How to Make Vegan Eggplant Pulled Pork + Tostada Recipe

Step 1

Place the sliced red onions into a jar.

Step 2

Add the water, vinegars, sugar, and salt into a small saucepot. Stir and bring the mixture up to a boil.

Step 3

As soon as the sugar has dissolved, remove the pan from the heat, and let the liquid cool down for about 5 minutes.

Step 4

Pour the hot liquid into the jar of sliced onions. Cover the jar, shake/tip it well, remove the lid, and let it marinate at room temperature until it is completely cooled down. ***They're technically ready in 15 minutes, but they taste better the longer they marinate! I prefer to make this recipe a day ahead!

Step 5

Once the liquid has cooled down to room temperature, cover the jar and place it in the refrigerator.

Step 6

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Step 7

Cut the very top hard piece of the eggplants off and discard them. Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise.

Step 8

Line a large sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper and grease it lightly with the olive oil. Then, place the eggplants inside/face down onto the sheet pan.

Step 9

Place the pan in the oven and roast the eggplants for 30 minutes.

Step 10

Straight from the oven, place the eggplants into a large, heat-safe bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator until the eggplants are cool enough to handle with your hands. Wrapping the bowl with plastic wrap makes it easier to peel the eggplant's skin off later on.

Step 11

Peel off the eggplant's skin and discard them. Remove and toss all of the seeds from the eggplant as well.

Step 12

With your hands, shred the remaining eggplant into very fine, short pieces.

Step 13

Take a couple paper towel sheets and squeeze out about 75% of the moisture from the pulled eggplant. You will need to repeat this step with new paper towel about 5 times or so, as the paper towel will become wet very quickly. When done, place the pulled eggplant in a large bowl and set it to the side.

Step 14

Move on and make the sauce. Alternatively, you can make the sauce while the eggplant is roasting to save yourself some time!

Step 15

In a small saucepot, add the ancho chiles and just enough water to cover them. Bring the water to a boil, turn the heat off, and cover the pan. Let the ancho chiles soak, covered, for 15 minutes. If they are floating, flip them over and push them down halfway through. ***DO NOT dump out the cooking water- you need some of it for the sauce!

Step 16

Remove and discard the stems from the ancho chiles. Add the chiles into a blender along with 1/2 cup of the chile's cooking water and the rest of the sauce ingredients. Blend this under extremely smooth.

Step 17

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and line a large sheet pan with a piece of parchment paper.

Step 18

Pour the sauce over the pulled eggplant and stir extremely well.

Step 19

Spread the pulled eggplant evenly across the prepared baking sheet. Place it in the oven and bake it for 30 minutes, stirring it well halfway through.

Step 20

Place down your tostada. Top it with the eggplant pulled pork, then the sliced avocado, crumbled vegan mozzarella, pickled red onions, and cilantro leaves!