Sichuan Eggplant (Yu Xiang Qie Zhi)

          This dish is called "fish flavored eggplant" in Chinese. There is nothing fishy about it, so don't be put off by the translation; it got the name because fish is cooked with the same kinds of flavors. This dish is from the Sichuan region of China, which is in the south west part of the country; Sichuan food generally is spicy, salty and pungent, as the Chinese would put it. This is what "authentic" Chinese tastes like; it is not dripping in grease and sugar, instead it has pleasantly strong mixture of ingredients that keeps you interested with the complexity of the flavor. Also, this dish, like all Asian food, sits lightly in your stomach; after eating it you will feel pleasantly full, rather than weighed down by the meal. It took me two tries to get this dish down, the first time I messed up the technique and the flavors were weak; the second time, my mom lectured me through my "obvious" mistakes, and I did great!

                   Ingredients:                            Equipment Needed: 
                  -8 or 9 Chinese Eggplants           -Knife+Cutting Board
                  -1.5 inch Chunk of Ginger           -Pot
                  -5 Garlic Cloves                         -Slotted Spoon (for deep frying)
                  -4 Scallion Sprigs                       -Wok or Large Pan
                                                                -Spatula
                  -1/2 pound Pork                        -3 Mixing Bowls

                  -Soy Sauce
                  -Cooking Wine
                  -White Vinegar
                  -Chili Bean Paste
                  -Bouillon or Salt
                  -Little Sugar
                  -Cornstarch

Preparation/Cook Time: 1 Hour
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty Rank: Takes a Little Work

          While this recipe isn't complicated, it does hinge of a few key cooking techniques. It is extremely important that you follow these steps in the right order, otherwise the dish will come out poorly. The 3 most important parts are the flash frying, the proper stir-frying technique and the flavoring. Don't worry though, I'll make sure I explain it thoroughly in the recipe! The slotted spoon I talk about above, is any type of utensil that you can use to lift the eggplant chunks out of the deep-frying oil while having the oil drain through the utensil. As for flavoring the dish, I don't know the exact measurements for the soy sauce, vinegar and such, so I will try to give approximations; make sure to taste test the flavors to see if it needs more of anything. Don't be intimidated by the length of my directions, stir-frying is fairly simple, I just want to make sure you thoroughly understand each step.

          Now for the ingredients, there are several things to note: one is that the eggplant is "Chinese" not Italian or American eggplant; this is important since Chinese eggplants are thinner and more tender, also, the skin is edible unlike the leathery American varieties. You can go to a Chinese supermarket to pick some up, if you can't, then buy regular eggplant that is fairly thin like the ones in the photo above. For the Chili Bean Paste, again, you will have to buy this in Chinatown or the Asian section of the supermarket; I don't know of any supplements for this sauce. As for the bouillon, powdered is easiest to use, but a better, than bouillon would work. Any cooking wine is fine, I use a Chinese one, but anything goes. Last, don't you dare think of trying to use powdered garlic and ginger! Using fresh ginger and garlic will really make a difference, I promise.

In-a-nutshell Directions:
1. Fill the pot with oil and set to high heat.
2. Cut up the eggplant.
3. Deep fry eggplant in several batches until the pieces are golden on edges.
4. Use slotted spoon to get eggplant out set aside in bowl.
5. While flash frying eggplant, mince garlic and ginger and slice scallions.
6. Cube meat and marinate with little soy sauce and wine.
7. Put wok on stove and set to high heat with oil.
8. Fry garlic and ginger in oil first.
9. Then add Chili Paste and stir.
10. Add pork and cook until the meat is mostly done.
11. Add finished eggplant in and stir.
12. Add soy sauce, cooking wine, vinegar, bouillon and pinch of sugar and stir.
13. Mix cornstarch with water, then pour mixture in wok and stir.
14. Taste-test and fix if needed.
15. Plate and garnish with scallions.

Detailed Directions:

1. Fill the pot with enough oil in it so that the eggplant will be fully submerged in the oil. Now set the pot on the stove at a medium-high heat. It is better to start with a little extra oil since the many batches of eggplant will soak it up as you cook.

2. Cut up the eggplant. Each one should cut into about 3 or 4 segments, the goal is to have the segments be about as long as you pinky finger. After segmenting the eggplant, cut the segments into either 4 or 6 parts, depending on the thickness.

3. After all the eggplant is cut up, test the oil with a piece to see if the oil is hot enough. If you hear a nice sizzle then you know the oil is hot enough. Drop small batches of eggplant into the oil, put the purple skin-side face down (this prevents the color from turning a gross brown); now fry until the edges are a little golden. This technique seals the eggplant together so that it won't fall apart in the stir fry.

4. Use the slotted spoon to fish out the eggplant when it is done and set the finished pieces aside in a bowl or plate. While each batch cooks, you can do other preparations, just make sure to check on the eggplant every few minutes.

5. While frying the batches of eggplant, mince the ginger and garlic and set aside. Then slice the scallions thinly and set aside.



6. Now cube the pork and put in a mixing bowl with a little splash of soy sauce and cooking wine. This will allow it to get a quick marinade in before you start cooking.

7. When all the batches of eggplant are finished, put a wok on the stove and turn to a medium-high heat. Put a little frying oil in the wok, just enough to coat the bottom.

8. When the oil is hot, put the garlic and ginger in. They should sizzle on contact. It is CRITICAL that you put the garlic and ginger in first, this step bring out their aroma and flavors the oil. Also, make sure that they sizzle on contact, otherwise the heat isn't high enough.

6. Marinate Meat               9.  Add Chili Paste              10. Add Meat to Wok

9. After the garlic and ginger have sizzled for a minute, put 3 or 4 TB of the Chili Paste in and stir the paste into it.

10. Now add the pork into the wok, keep stirring and cook until the meat is mostly done; this only should take about two minutes.

11. Now put all the eggplant pieces into the wok and mix with the meat.

12. Now add in the soy sauce, vinegar, cooking wine, a little bouillon, a dash of sugar* and stir.
          *A little sugar helps tie all the flavors together, just make sure you don't add more than a TB                   since the dish isn't supposed to be sweet.

13. Get 1.5 or 2 TB of cornstarch* and mix with a little water. When the cornstarch is dissolved mix it into the wok.
          *Cornstarch thickens the sauce, but if you put it in directly without mixing it with water it will                 clump up.

14. Now taste test the dish. If it isn't salty enough, add a little more bouillon or soy sauce; if it isn't sour enough for your liking, add a splash more of vinegar, if you want more spice, add another spoon of the chili paste.

15. Okay, your all done, plate the dish, garnish with the scallions* and enjoy.
          *By adding the scallion at the end, you prevent them from losing their vivid green color.