Recipes

Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

  • Serves

    serves 4-6

SAVEUR

This Sichuan-style dish is one of the few non-Cantonese recipes in Grace Young's book, The Wisdom of the Chinese Kitchen: Classic Family Recipes for Celebration and Healing.

Ingredients

  • 3 medium Chinese eggplant, about 1 lb.
  • 2 tbsp. chili-garlic sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. thin soy sauce
  • 2 Tbsp. Chinese red rice vinegar
  • 2 Tbsp. shao hsing (rice wine)
  • 1 Tbsp. sugar
  • 7 Tbsp. vegetable oil
  • 14 cup ground pork butt
  • 2 Tbsp. finely minced garlic
  • 2 Tbsp. finely minced ginger
  • 12 cup chopped scallions

Instructions

Step 1

Trim the stem and ends from the eggplant and cut eggplant into 1⁄2'' x 2 1⁄2'' strips. In a small bowl, combine chili-garlic sauce, soy sauce, vinegar, rice wine, sugar, and 2⁄3 cup cold water.

Step 2

Heat a 14'' flat-bottomed wok or skillet over high heat until hot but not smoking. Add 3 tbsp. oil and half the eggplant and stir-fry 2 minutes, or until some of the eggplant begins to brown and soften. Transfer eggplant to a plate. Repeat with remaining eggplant and 3 tbsp. oil, transferring to the plate with first batch. Add remaining 1 tbsp. oil, pork, garlic, and ginger, and stir-fry about 1 minute, or until golden and fragrant. Return the eggplant to the wok. Re-stir the chili sauce mixture and swirl into the wok. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to medium, cover, and cook 5-8 minutes or until eggplant is just tender. Stir in scallions and serve immediately.

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