2 chinese eggplants, halved, cut into two inch sections, quartered. If some of the pieces are still to big, I halve them again.
4 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece ginger, peeled and minced
2 green onions, white part minced, green part shredded into 2" sections
1 tsp coarse ground sichuan peppercorn. I used 2 tsp of cracked black pepper because I couldn't find sichuan peppercorn at the store.
1/3 cup chicken stock
1 1/2 tbsp black bean sauce.
1 tbsp shiaoxing rice wine
2 tbsp black vinegar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water
Mix together chicken stock and sauce ingredients, black bean, wine, vinegar, soy, sugar. Heat pan or wok on medium heat coat with a thin layer of oil till smoking. Fry eggplants, in batches if necessary. Outside should be golden with the insides getting soft, but still relatively firm. Set aside.
Adding one at a time, quickly stirfry garlic, ginger onions and peppercorn till fragrant but not burnt. The pepper should start to to have a kick in the aroma. Add sauce and simmer till slightly reduced, then return eggplant to the pan just to heat through. Add green onions and cornstarch. Toss, together and when onions are starting to wilt, serve eggplant immediately.
I like eggplant a bit firmer, but some diners prefer a softer texture. If soft is what I'm after, I add the eggplant right after adding the sauce so the pieces can simmer for an extra several minutes.
Some variants:
Add 1/4 lb of minced pork to the above recipe after cooking the spices.
Include 2 tbsp Garlic Chili Sauce and cubed tofu. In that case, omit 2 garlic cloves, the black bean sauce, and use only 1 tbsp of rice vinegar.
Some variants:
Add 1/4 lb of minced pork to the above recipe after cooking the spices.
Include 2 tbsp Garlic Chili Sauce and cubed tofu. In that case, omit 2 garlic cloves, the black bean sauce, and use only 1 tbsp of rice vinegar.
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