Sichuan Fish Fragrant Eggplant

• 份量: 4 servings
• 活動時間: 10 minutes
• 總時間: 30 minutes

食材

Vegetable oil - 220g (1 cup × 240ml × 0.92g/ml)

Eggplant - 450–500g (1 large or 2 medium/small, cut into 7 x 1.5cm batons, skin on, Note 2)

Ground pork - 100g (Note 3)

Ginger (finely minced) - 6g (1 tbsp, approximate weight for minced ginger)

Garlic (finely minced) - 9g (1.5 tbsp, approximate weight for minced garlic)

Green onion (finely sliced, white & pale green part for cooking, green part for garnish) - As needed but typically 5–10g for 1 stalk

Pickled red chilli (or any pickled spicy peppers, Note 4) - 5g (1 tsp, approximate weight for minced pickled chilli)

Broad bean sauce (Pixian doubanjiang, spicy Sichuan version, Note 5) - 15g (1 tbsp, approximate weight for thick paste)

Cornflour / cornstarch - 5g (1.5 tsp × 3g/tsp)

Light soy sauce (Note 7) - 20g (1 tbsp × 15ml × 1.25g/ml)

Dark soy sauce (Note 7) - 3g (0.5 tsp × 5ml × 1.25g/ml)

White Sugar - 8g

Honey - 7g (1 tsp × 5ml × 1.4g/ml)

Black vinegar (Note 8): -10g (3.5 tsp × 5ml × 0.6g/ml, approximate for vinegar density)

Water - 120g (0.5 cup × 240ml × 1g/ml)

步驟

Sauce: Mix the cornflour and light soy in a jug until lump free. Add the remaining Sauce ingredients and mix to combine. Set aside.

Fry eggplant: Heat oil in a wok on high heat until hot - 180°C/350°F. Add half of the eggplant and fry for around 4 minutes, stirring and turning gently a few times, until soft all the way through and a bit browned on the surface. Remove with a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined tray. Repeat with remaining eggplant.

Remove oil: Carefully remove the leftover oil from the wok except 2 tablespoons, for cooking.

Stir fry: Cool the wok slightly then return to high heat. Add the pork and cook for 1 - 2 minutes, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see pink. Add garlic, ginger, white part of the green onion. Stir fry for 30 seconds. Add pickled red chilli and broad bean sauce. Cook for 1 minute.

Add sauce: Give the Sauce a quick mix (to dissolve settled cornflour). Add eggplant, then add half the Sauce into the wok, toss gently until the sauce starts thickening - about 30 to 45 seconds. Add remaining Sauce, toss gently for 45 seconds until it thickens (goal: between maple syrup and honey).

Serve: Turn off heat. Pour into a serving bowl, sprinkle with green onion. Serve with rice.

筆記

What Kind of Eggplant?:

Long, light purple Chinese eggplants are the most tender, with a thin light purple skin. These eggplants are the most common type in Asia. They cook quickly, are very tender, and their thinner skins and fewer seeds make them less bitter and tough.

Another option is Japanese eggplant, which is similarly shaped but has darker purple skin and denser flesh. This type of eggplant can take longer to cook, owing to that denser, drier interior.

If you cannot find either of these varieties, regular globe eggplants are absolutely fine, but you may have to cook them longer. If searing the eggplant alone isn’t getting it tender, you can add some water to the pan, cover, and steam them to cook them through. You may also consider peeling the skin of the eggplant if it’s particularly thick or tough.

This recipe uses regular eggplant, not Asian ones, so you can cut batons the way restaurants do for this dish. To cut – I cut into 1.5cm rounds, then cut each circle into batons.

How to Cook Chinese Eggplants?:Most restaurants flash-fry them, which cooks them quickly and results in soft and bright-colored eggplant pieces. The major downside to the restaurant version is an overly oily dish. Eggplants are like sponges, and they absorb oil even if quickly flash-fried.

Instead, sear the eggplant in a smaller amount of oil, adding a little more oil if needed as the eggplant cooks down. Using a pan or a wok to fry the eggplant will allow you to add as much or as little oil as you like, giving you a nice sear and with a wok, a hint of smoky wok flavour.

Adding a splash of Shaoxing wine instead of water to the pan or wok during searing speeds the cooking process, although tender Chinese eggplants should cook in just about 8 minutes and globe eggplants in 10.

For globe eggplants, you can pre-steam the pieces for 5 minutes or so, or until the pieces are slightly tender, and then finish them by searing them in the pan or wok.

Pickled red chilli: Also called salted chillies are chopped, salted Chinese red chillie. I use Tan Tan Xiang brand. Adds spicy tang – skip it for less heat, but you’ll lose a flavour layer.

Chinese broad bean sauce: Doubanjiang is a fermented paste made from broad beans, soybeans, and salt, often with chilli. It’s savoury, salty, and packed with umami. I use the spicy Sichuan version (Pixian doubanjiang) which is the most well known and used in dishes like Mapo Tofu.

Soy sauces: Dark soy makes the sauce darker and adds stronger soy flavour, light soy is more for salt. Do not sub the light soy with dark soy (way too strong!)

Chinese black vinegar: Looks like balsamic vinegar, tastes like it too but with a slight savoury edge.