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DigsMagazine.com.
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today's special |
Yu Hsiang Eggplant
This spicy eggplant dish is a little
sweet, a tiny bit sour, and highly flavorful. My mom’s version
includes ground pork, but the dish tastes just as good if you omit the
meat. Eggplant is such a "meaty" vegetable in texture
that it’ll still make a very filling meal, when paired with a big bowl
of steamed rice.
ingredients
4 small eggplants [Chinese/Japanese
variety, the slender ones, are best]
1/2 pound lean ground
pork/turkey [optional]
3 cloves garlic
2-3 stalks scallions
2 tsp chili bean paste
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
1/2 -1 tsp vinegar [if you’ve
got a mild vinegar like rice vinegar, use 1 tsp; otherwise 1/2]
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstarch paste [cornstarch
mixed with water]
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp cooking oil |
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time
30-40 min
serves 3-4 |
1. Cut the eggplant into
2" long sections. Halve, then cut into
thirds or quarters [you want sticks of eggplant approx.
2"x ½"x1/2" in size]. Steam the eggplant [use any
steaming method; I usually place a steaming rack in my wok, add
half cup water, + turn the heat to high. I then place the
ingredients on a dish,
and place the dish on the rack in the wok. After that I simply cover and
steam.] The eggplant will take approx. 15-20 min. to cook. When tender [that is to say, you can easily poke a chopstick,
fork, or whatever utensil you prefer through one of the pieces], remove
from heat. If the veggies are sitting in a deep pool of liquid, drain,
but not too thoroughly.
Set aside.
2. Mince 3 cloves garlic; chop
2-3 stalks scallions finely. Set aside 1 tbsp chopped scallion for
garnishing the final dish.
3. Heat 1 tsp cooking oil on
medium [if using an electric stove, heat on high]. Add ½ pound ground
pork [skip to step 4 if you’re doing the vegetarian version ]. Break up the pork using a metal spatula to help it cook quicker.
4. When the meat is no longer
pink, add the chopped garlic and scallions. Stir.
5. Add 2 tsp chili bean paste, 1
tsp sugar, ½-1 tsp vinegar, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp soy sauce, then
stir. Let cook for 1-2 min.
6. If the mixture looks very dry,
add ¼ cup water.
7. Taste; add more salt if it
doesn’t taste salty enough, more chili bean paste if it’s not spicy
enough, a pinch more sugar if you find it a tad too salty.
8. Stir in the cornstarch paste;
cook until the sauce thickens [a minute or two].
9. Pour into a shallow bowl and
drizzle with sesame oil. Sprinkle with the remaining scallions. Serve
with plenty of steamed white rice.
o
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