Pre-heat the oven to 450°F (230°C).
Take the tofu out of the package, rinse with water and extract as much liquid out of the tofu as possible by using the pie pan / plate method (place the block of tofu in a pie pan and stack some plates on top of it and let it sit for about 15 minutes). If you have a tofu press, feel free to use that instead. The goal here is to extract as much liquid out of the tofu as possible.
Once the excess liquid has been extracted, cut the tofu into a little larger than bite-sized pieces and place them onto a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Lining your baking sheet with parchment paper is super important. Do not skip this step or the tofu will stick to your baking sheet like mad.
Place the tofu in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, flip the tofu over and bake for an additional 10 minutes. Take out of the oven and set aside for now.
Make the rest of the dish.
Make the sauce by placing all of the sauce ingredients (garlic, ginger, sesame seeds, soy sauce, Coconut Aminos and water) into a medium-sized bowl and whisking with a fork.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat for about a minute. Add the onion and sauté for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently and adding a tablespoon of water at a time when they start to stick to the pan or look dry. You want them to get nice and brown during this process because that will bring out their natural sweetness and flavor.
Wipe the salt off from the eggplant with a damp paper towel and ddd the eggplant, baked tofu, basil and sauce to the pan and cook uncovered for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all of the sauce is absorbed. Add white pepper to taste.
Serve with brown rice or any other whole grain.
