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Place the eggplant in a large bowl and scatter over the cornflour. Using your hands or a large spoon, toss to coat.
Heat a large Dutch oven or deep frying pan over medium–high heat. When it’s hot, drizzle with oil and arrange as many eggplant rounds as you can fit in a single layer. Sear for 3–4 minutes, until lightly golden, then flip them over and fry the other side; they don’t have to be completely cooked at this stage – we just want them to be lightly golden. Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside.
Remove the shiitake mushrooms from the water, squeezing out any excess liquid. Keep the mushroom soaking water. Finely slice the mushrooms.
To the same pan, add 2 tablespoons of oil, along with the tofu, mushroom, five-spice powder and about 1 teaspoon of sea salt. Cook for 3–5 minutes, stirring every now and then, until the tofu starts to brown.
Add the garlic and ginger, stir and cook for 1 minute.
Add the doubanjiang (or black bean sauce), green onion and soy sauce (or tamari) and sauté for 2 minutes until aromatic.
Add the eggplant and mushroom soaking water (or substitute with water), then reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, until the eggplant is completely softened.
Add the sugar and stir, then taste and season with more sea salt, if needed. Serve with rice.