For the past couple of weeks Mary Kate and I have been working non-stop on designing a website for a client. The two of us run a creative agency together (Carotene, Inc.) and sometimes when we're in the middle of a big job we think of nothing else...not even food. Lately for lunches (and occasionally dinners) we've been going through a noodle phase because noodles are quick to make and pretty nutritious if you throw a fried egg, some swiss chard, or bok choy leaves on top. I actually think we can safely say that the design of the website we're working on was fueled by noodles.
We're now in the homestretch of the site design, finishing up everything, and today I realized I could not eat another freaking noodle, at least not for a few days. So I ducked into my fridge and took inventory of the ingredients to think of something to cook other than noodles. I saw ginger root, garlic, chili bean paste, half a jar of hoisin sauce-- and that's when it came to me, if I had a few eggplants I could make Sichuan Spicy Eggplant, or 鱼香茄子 (yu xiang qie zi). I walked to the grocery store down the street and picked up a few of the purple vegetables, then on my way back I grabbed some white rice from a take-out chinese restaurant.
Sichuan Spicy Eggplant is a tasty Chinese dish that is a favorite of foreigners in China. When non-chinese speakers are faced with an all-chinese character menu, this is one of the first dishes they turn to. The sauce is spicy and a little sweet and sour. The eggplant is juicy and filling. The Chinese name for this dish actually translates to "Fragrant Fish Eggplant" but since there is no fish in it and "fragrant" in my mind sounds like smelly, we're calling it Sichuan Spicy Eggplant.
I made this Sichuan Spicy Eggplant vegetarian-style but it sometimes comes with ground pork. If you want to add pork, brown the meat separately and add it to the wok at the end when you add the sauce.
-Nate
See our recipe after the jump...
Sichuan Spicy Eggplant
1 lb. narrow eggplants or round eggplants
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 tablespoons light soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced ginger
1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 green onions, chopped
2 teaspoon chili bean paste
2 teaspoon rice vinegar
Trim the ends off the eggplants and peel them. Slice the eggplants lengthwise into 2-inch long by 3/4-inch thick strips. Place the strips in a bowl, toss them with the salt, and set aside for 1 hour to draw out excess water. Rinse the strips under cool water, drain, and pat them dry with paper towels.
In a bowl combine the soy sauce, garlic, ginger, hoisin sauce, sugar, sesame oil, green onions, chili bean paste, and rice vinegar. Set aside.
Heat the vegetable oil in a wok over high heat until it is very hot. Add the eggplant strips and stir-fry for 5 minutes or until the eggplant is limp and cooked through. Add soy sauce mixture to the wok and stir-fry 1 additional minute. Serve with white rice.