This traditional Chinese seasoning mix is said to have originated in Sichuan cuisine, which is known for spiciness and bold flavors, but has since spread to other regions as well. The word yuxiang also refers to the sauce in which the meat or vegetables were cooked. Yúxiāng literally translates to fish fragrance, although it contains no seafood and is not commonly used in seafood dishes, but rather to create a flavor base for vegetarian recipes and various dishes containing beef, pork, or chicken.
Chinese Yúxiāng Eggplant(鱼香肉丝鱼香茄子in Chinese)
Course: MainCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Medium2
servings5
minutes15
minutes204
kcal20
minutesThis traditional Chinese seasoning mix is said to have originated in Sichuan cuisine, which is known for spiciness and bold flavors, but has since spread to other regions as well. The word yuxiang also refers to the sauce in which the meat or vegetables were cooked. Yúxiāng literally translates to fish fragrance, although it contains no seafood and is not commonly used in seafood dishes, but rather to create a flavor base for vegetarian recipes and various dishes containing beef, pork, or chicken.
Ingredients
2 long eggplants , around 400g
1/4 cup mince pork
1 tbsp. chopped pickled peppers
1/2 tbsp. broad bean paste , Doubanjiang
2 garlic cloves , chopped
1 tbsp. chopped ginger
2 green onions , white part and green part separately chopped
2 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
1 tsp. salt for soaking
starch for coating
- Stir fry sauce
2 tsp. light soy sauce
1 tbsp. black vinegar
5 tbsp. water
1 tbsp. starch ,
2 tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
Directions
- Roll cut washed eggplants into long strips (try to keep some skin on each one). Then soak the eggplant strips in salty water for around 15 minutes. Move out and drain. Coat with starch (optional but I recommend using since this helps the sauce attaching on the eggplants)
- Prepare a bowl; mix all the ingredients for stir fry sauce. Then set aside.
- Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in wok or a pan and fry the eggplants until slightly browned by batches.
- Heat another 1 tablespoon of oil in wok, and fry mince pork until crisp and browned. Add doubanjiang and chopped pepper to continue cooking for 1 minute for red oil. Add garlic, chopped peppers, green onion white part and ginger to stir-fry for the aroma.
- Stir in the sauce. Cook for a while until the sauce is thickened. Mix well and make sure the eggplants are well coated.
- Move from wok, sprinkle chopped green onion! I highly recommend serving this with steamed rice. The magic sauce can turn plain steamed rice into something extremely delicious.
Recipe Video
Notes
- Since both doubanjiang and soy sauce contains salt. So spare your salt.
