China · Sichuan
Fish-Fragrant Aubergine
Aubergine fried until soft and silky, tossed with minced pork in a sweet, sour and gently spicy garlic sauce. A Sichuan classic despite having no fish in it.
The name yuxiang, fish-fragrant, describes a seasoning method rather than an ingredient: garlic, ginger, spring onion and chilli cooked into a sauce, with sugar and vinegar giving it the balance that people read as fishy depth. No fish is involved and none is needed. Frying the aubergine separately so it can be lifted out while the sauce is built keeps it from collapsing into mush.
Ingredients
- aubergines2 pieces
- minced pork20 g
- salt5 g
- sugarExact
- MSG5 g
- light soy sauce10 ml
- dark soy sauce5 ml
- vinegar10 ml
- starch slurry100 ml
- doubanjiangExact
Directions
- 1
Cut the aubergines into strips.
- 2
Chop the pork into mince, chop the scallion, ginger and garlic, and dice the bird's eye chili.
- 3
Mix the fish-fragrant sauce: combine the salt, MSG, sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vinegar and starch slurry in a bowl until even.
- 4
Pour 300 ml oil into the wok and heat over low heat, which is easier to control. When the oil is about 70 percent hot, roughly 40 seconds with smoke rising, add the aubergine and fry for 2 minutes, lifting it out as soon as the edges yellow. Pour off the excess oil for later use.
- 5
Leave 15 to 30 ml oil in the wok, add the minced pork and fry until it turns pale, then lift it out.
- 6
Pour 15 to 30 ml oil into the wok, add the doubanjiang, scallion whites, ginger and garlic and fry until fragrant, then return the pork and stir-fry evenly.
- 7
Add 80 to 150 ml water, level being about 80 percent the height of the aubergine, then add the aubergine and the sauce, stir-fry hard to combine and reduce. Finally toss in the spring onion and serve.
Source: HowToCook · WorldBite adaptation · Unlicense source text; bilingual recipe adapted by WorldBite.