The “fish” in the name of this “fish fragrant” eggplant 鱼香茄子 (yú xiāng qié zǐ), refers to flavors that are used for cooking fish in Sìchuān 四川. There is no fish or seafood in the dish. In fact, the dish is often made vegetarian, though a small amount of ground pork is a popular addition as well.
“Fish fragrant” or “yu xiang” covers both the flavor profile of this dish as well as 鱼香叶 (yúxiāngyè), a shiso leaf often used to cook fish in Sichuan cuisine. I can’t get shiso here during quarantine, so I’ve used cilantro, another common herb in Chinese fish dishes. If you hate the taste of cilantro, feel free to substitute it with shiso or more scallions.
You may know this dish as eggplant in garlic sauce. Most of the time, eggplant at your favorite Chinese restaurant is deliciously melty, soft, and tender because it’s been deep-fried. However, even professional cooks hate deep frying at home due to the smell, hassle of cleaning, and storage of the fry oil. Many “healthy” Chinese eggplant recipes online call for shallow frying the eggplant. Eggplant is like a sponge; it will absorb a lot of the oil in the pan. In fact, if you can’t keep the oil temp high enough, shallow frying can result in more oil absorption than deep frying.
Enter steaming! By steaming the eggplant most of the way through before stir frying, this recipe cuts down the fat for healthier eggplant and less cleanup in your kitchen.
Technique
This recipe calls for Chinese eggplant (aka Japanese or Asian), the long, slender variety. It is less bitter than your typical supermarket globe eggplant. To pick young, tender eggplants: look for a bit of white at the stem end of the eggplant and a bit of give when squeezed. If all you have are globe eggplants: sprinkle the pieces evenly with salt to draw out the bitterness, let it stand for 20 minutes, wipe off the resulting moisture and proceed with the remaining steps.
The most efficient way to cut the eggplant for this dish is the rolling cut, 滚刀 (gǔndāo). The basic idea is to cut into large triangular wedges in order to expose more of the inside white flesh of the eggplant. You’ll make a cut on the bias (diagonal), roll the eggplant 1/4 turn toward you so that your previous cut is on the top, and cut on the bias again about halfway on the exposed surface. The resulting pieces should be about 1-inch wedges. For a demo, check out Chef Wang Gang’s video on 8 ways to cut eggplant. It’s totally fine to use any other method to get there. Just don’t slice the eggplant into coins — it wouldn’t expose enough of the white flesh.
This dish uses a steaming technique to cut down on oil while avoiding everyone’s least favorite task of deep frying. The secret is to toss the sliced eggplant with 1-2 tsp cornstarch and 1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar before steaming it for 10 minutes — the vinegar keeps the eggplant from turning brown, and the cornstarch keeps it from falling apart. The vinegar will not impart a sour flavor; we’re using just enough to keep the eggplant from oxidizing, akin to lemon juice on a cut apple. We’ll also prep the aromatics while the eggplant is steaming to cut down on total cooking time.
Inspiration for the steaming technique goes to Chef Wang Gang 美食作家王刚, a Sichuanese chef whose online videos are my quarantine cooking obsession.
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The Cook
Steamed Eggplant (Skip the Deep Fry)
Bring 3/4 inch of water to a boil in your wok or other large deep pan (stock pot, Dutch oven). Transfer the cut eggplant with vinegar and cornstarch to a heat-safe bowl (ceramic, Pyrex, or metal, look for oven-safe). Insert a steamer basket (with the center post removed) to elevate the bowl above the water. If you don’t have a steamer basket, you can use a small wire cooling rack, 3 ping-pong-ball-sized wads of aluminum foil, or a wet kitchen towel. Steam the eggplant for 10 minutes, until almost cooked through. It should have some give but still be quite firm.
Meanwhile, while the eggplant is steaming, prep your aromatics. Mince garlic and ginger to get ~2 tsp of each — that was 3 wimpy cloves of garlic and 2 massive slices of ginger for me. Slice two scallions. If you like spice, slice some hot peppers. I used 1 massive jalapeño, de-seeded, as well as 1 heaping tsp of pickled red chilies 红泡椒. I like the color of red chilies and had pickled red chili that my dad made in the fridge, but use whatever you have (e.g. 2 medium Indian chilies, 1-2 jalapeño, 1-2 serrano, 2 Thai bird chilies, etc).
Quick Stir Fry
Heat a large pan to medium heat (280°F = 5.0 on my Duxtop induction). I used a wok here, but a 3+ quart saute pan would also work. If you’re using a stainless steel saute pan, you may need a bit more oil to keep things from sticking. Add 2 Tbsp high-smoking point oil (canola, avocado, grapeseed) and saute the garlic, ginger, and chilies until golden and fragrant, about 30 seconds.
Turn the heat up to medium-high (375°F = 7.5 on the Duxtop) and add the steamed eggplant. Stir fry, tossing continuously to prevent it from sticking. The eggplant will have a tendency to stick at the beginning if you don’t keep it moving. Cook for 2 minutes, at which point the eggplant should be golden on the outside and less sticky. Add 2 tsp light soy sauce, 1 Tbsp of mirin rice wine, and salt to taste (I used 0.25 tsp of kosher salt). If you don’t have mirin, you can substitute 1 Tbsp of water and 0.5 tsp of sugar. Continue to stir fry, tossing to coat, until the liquid is reduced and the eggplant is soft and melty but still intact. If the pan is too dry before the eggplant is done, add a splash of water or mirin, and keep cooking.
Drizzle 1 tsp Chinese black vinegar (Chinkiang 镇江香醋) around the sides of the pan, stir quickly to coat. Turn off the heat, add the cilantro and scallions, and toss to combine. The residual heat from the pan will wilt the herbs slightly. Plate it up, and enjoy!
Yu Xiang “Fish Fragrant” Eggplant 鱼香茄子
Equipment
- Steamer insert, or wire rack, aluminum foil, kitchen towel
- Large pot with lid for steaming, such as wok, stock pot, Dutch oven — if you're using a wok, you only need one pot
- Heat-safe bowl that fits inside your steaming pot
Ingredients
- 2 Chinese eggplants ~14 oz = 400g total, aka Japanese or Asian eggplants (long, skinny variety) 茄子，2支
- 2 tsp minced ginger 姜末，2茶勺
- 2 tsp minced garlic 蒜末，2茶勺
- 2 scallions, chopped 葱，2根（切葱花）
- 2 fresh medium chilies, sliced adjust to desired spice level 青辣椒，2根（可按个人口味调整辣度）
- 1 handful cilantro, chopped or shiso leaf 香菜或鱼香叶（藿香），适量
- 2 tsp light soy sauce 生抽酱油，2茶勺
- 1 tsp Chinkiang (Chinese black) vinegar 香醋，1茶勺
- 1 Tbsp Shaoxing cooking wine or mirin, or substitute 1 Tbsp water + ½ tsp sugar 绍兴料酒，1汤勺
- ½ tsp sugar 白糖，少许
- 2 tsp corn starch 淀粉，2茶勺
- 1 Tbsp distilled white vinegar 白醋，1汤勺
- salt to taste, approx ¼ tsp kosher salt 食用盐，少许
- 2 Tbsp neutral cooking oil safe for high heat, like avocado 菜油，25克
Instructions
- Add ~0.75 inch of water and a steamer insert into the large pot, and bring it to a boil锅里加入少量清水，煮开，加入蒸格
- Cut eggplant into 1" chunks using a rolling cut 滚刀 (gǔn dāo)茄子滚到切块，约一寸大
- Toss eggplant with distilled white vinegar and corn starch until evenly coated. Transfer to heat-safe bowl. Steam eggplant in the large pot for 10 minutes.茄子放入耐热的碗里，撒上淀粉和白醋，蒸10分钟
- (while eggplant is steaming) Mince garlic and ginger, and slice hot peppers. Chop scallions and cilantro/shiso蒸茄子时准备辅料：姜，蒜，辣椒，葱，香菜切碎备用
- Heat your stir fry pan to medium heat. Add oil, garlic, ginger, and peppers. Stir fry until golden and fragrant, about 30 seconds锅烧热至5成热，加入由烧热。将姜，蒜，辣椒，爆香
- Increase the heat to medium-high. Add steamed eggplant and stir fry, tossing continuously until the eggplant is golden and no longer sticks to the pan (about 2 minutes)转中大火，油温烧至7成热，加入茄子不停翻炒以免粘锅。茄子烧至金黄，约2分钟
- Add soy sauce, sugar, cooking wine, and salt. Continue tossing and stirring until the sauce is reduced down and the eggplant is soft and melty. If the pan is too dry before the eggplant is done, add a splash of mirin or water and keep reducing.加入生抽酱油，糖，料酒，和盐，继续翻炒至茄子烧软。如果汤汁全部蒸发，可以加入适量清水继续收汁
- Add black vinegar from the sides of the pan, stir to coat.香醋从锅边淋入，翻炒几下
- Turn off the heat. Add cilantro and scallions, stir to combine and let the heat of the pan wilt the herbs.最后加入葱花香菜，翻炒均匀后即可出锅装盘
Notes
