Honey Glazed Pork Tenderloin with Sauted Woodear Mushrooms and Eggplant

I always enjoy new and interesting ingredients in my food, especially if I don't have a preconceived notion of how they should be used. I find that's the best way to be the most creative. Tonight I was making dinner and decided to use the woodear mushrooms I bought a few weeks ago. I did a little research when I brought them home, so I did have some indication that they were frequently used in Asian cuisine. What appealed to me, which will sound odd, is that they looked like a mess of shoelaces dry in their packaging. Almost leather like, one side black and the other white. Anyway, today I also had some Asian eggplant in the fridge, so it all took off from there.

1 package, dry Woodear mushrooms
3 Asian eggplants
1 head of garlic, peeled
2 tbsp of grated, fresh ginger
2 tbsp of rough chopped cilantro
Pon Shabu sauce
Mirin
Worcestershire sauce
Olive Oil
Salt

Chop eggplants into quarters, lengthwise. Season with salt and add a little! olive oil just to coat slightly, add whole cloves of garlic and bake at 400 for 30 minutes. Add the mushrooms to 1 quart of boiling water and boil for 8 minutes. Drain out the water. In a large mixing bowl, season the mushrooms with pon shabu, mirin, and a little Worcestershire. It's hard to say how much because the mushrooms absorb a lot so go by taste. Smash the roasted garlic and mix with the mushrooms. Add in the eggplant. Add in the grated ginger and cilantro. Serve warm with a side of white rice.

Pork tenderloin was first marinated in peppadew marinade and honey for about 1 hour, then roasted on the stove top for the golden crust and cooked the rest of the way in a 375F oven.