What is "soy bean paste"
Do you mean miso?

Also, would aubergine work instead of mushrooms?
(IHateSprouts is baking a huge pie shaped like an enormous pie, Fri 29 Jun 2012, 15:59, 1 reply)

Soy bean paste
No, you need to go to a Chinese supermarket for it, but it's quite common and inexpensive. It's basically chillies and beans mashed up in oil. I use a tub called Hong You Dou Ban, it's about £1.50 for enough for 8 meals, but it really is the base of this dish.
Fuschia Dunlop talks about it here

The mushrooms are just for flavouring and texture, the "meat" in this dish is the tofu (which is smooth and silky, I imagine the previous poster was helpfully referring to Quorn), so you can just leave them out. If you've a glut of aubergines and want Sichuan food, I recommend fish fragrant aubergines, which surprisingly contain no fish or fish flavourings.

Sichaun food is the most amazing Chinese food, yet hardly anyone knows of it, it is such an amazing new taste and so simple to make, once you've got the ingredients. And god, those peppercorns are unlike anything you've eaten before, they make your tongue and lips go numb!
( gadjie, Fri 29 Jun 2012, 16:35, closed)

Mmmmm... Sichuan...
My favourite brand of tyres for track days and my favourite genus of flowers.

I bought her book because of my love of motor sport while flower arranging, and I wasn't disappointed. I have looked at all the pictures, and read (most of) the recipes. I still haven't cooked anything from it but I am a fan of Sichuan cuisine so it won't be long!
(IdlePeAcEsign if trouble were my mistress, i'd send her to them, Mon 2 Jul 2012, 22:34, closed)