Monday, December 03, 2012

Szechuan Style Eggplant


I made this dish when I was under the weather not too long ago. With the medicine, coughing and stuffy nose and all, my taste bud went haywire. No mood to cook or appetite to eat anything except for rice porridge and soup. There were 2 eggplants in the vegetable compartment and it is going soft and wrinkles on me. I always have this habit of buying egg plant but never cook them so it always end up in the garbage bin but I am not going to let that happen this time.

Since I like eggplant a lot I convinced myself to cook it and 20 minutes later a plate of aromatic, spicy and sweet dish to have it with my porridge. This is exactly what I needed to clear up my nose and head. I made this dish with hot bean paste which is commonly used in Szechuan cooking. You can get it any Asian store and some supermarket even carries it.



Ingredients:

2 Chinese/Japanese eggplant – cut into 1” length and 1” wide
4 oz ground meat (I used chicken)
3 cloves garlic – finely chopped
1 tbsp chopped ginger
2 tbsp hot bean paste
2 spring onions – cut small
1/2 tsp sesame oil

Sauce:

2 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp black Chinese vinegar
3/4 cup chicken broth or water
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp cornstarch


1. Combined all the sauce ingredients and set it aside.
2. Heat a wok or a large skillet over high heat. Add in 3 tbsp of oil; swirl around to coat on all side of the wok. Add in the eggplant, let it seared one side until lightly brown and then turn it over. Do the same to the other side. Toss and turn it for a few time and the remove it and set it aside.
3. In the same wok, add in a tbsp of oil; add in the ginger and garlic. Stir fry until fragrant and lightly brown. Add in the ground meat, break the meat up, and stir fry it until it changes to opaque color.
4. Add in the hot bean paste, give it a quick stir for 20 seconds, add in the sauce and let it cook for a minute. Once sauce thickens, add in the eggplants. Stir and toss it around and continue to cook until eggplants soften and absorbed most of the sauce.
5. Check seasonings, see if it needs any salt and lastly add in the green onions and sesame oil. Give it a few toss and dish out. Serve with warm rice.

10 comments:

Veronica said...

Ooo, my favourite dish. Your dish looks so yummy. Thanks for sharing.

Wordsmith said...

looks absolutely yummy... and surely delish paired with plain congee :9

Kelly Siew said...

This is one of my favourite eggplant dish. I can probably manage the whole plate on my own! :D Get well soon!

Fern @ To Food With Love said...

Been a while since I last had this...can't resist eggplant, they're fantastic if cooked properly. Looks delicious! I could just eat this on its own :)

Esther@thefussfreechef said...

I love this dish, but never thought of making it at home. Yum!!! Must go and buy some eggplant tomorrow.

Mat Gebu said...

Bessttt!!....nak cuba nanti...

Shereen said...

I love eggplants too and just couldn't resist buying some no matter how expensive they are sometimes.Just like you, I too sometimes left them in the vege bin as I just don't know what else I can do with them..lol! This is definately a nice recipe that I will definately try soon. Thank you for sharing, Gert:))

PH said...

This is my must order dish when I go to any Chinese restaurant that offer it in their menu. I must try your recipe soon :)

ICook4Fun said...

Hi Veronia, thanks for stopping by and your comment. Most of us like eggplant but not my husband though :(

DZ, yes they were good :)

Kelly, hi, thank for stopping by and your comment.

Fern, me either :) I can eat eggplant everyday.

Esther, hope to see your posting.

Mat, apa kabar? Lama tak jumpa kat sini. Hope you like this dish Mat.

Shereen, we two are much alike. Another thing that I end up throwing away is taugeh. Must buy it each time I go grocery shopping :(

Phong Hong, hope you like it :)

Tina said...

made this dish for dinner last night. love it. thanks for the recipe.