Yuxiang Eggplant (Fish-Fragrant Eggplant)

Ingredients

• Eggplants · ~400g, cut into batons2
• Ground pork · optional80 g
• Garlic · minced3 cloves
• Ginger · minced1 tbsp
• Green onion · sliced1
• Doubanjiang · spicy bean paste1 tbsp
• Cooking oil4 tbsp
• Cornstarch slurry · starch + water, to finish1 tbsp
• Yuxiang sauce
• Soy sauce1 tbsp
• Black vinegar (or vinegar)1 tbsp
• Sugar1 tbsp
• Shaoxing wine1 tbsp
• Water4 tbsp

Steps

1. Cut the eggplant into batons, soak in salted water 5 minutes, and pat dry (so it absorbs less oil). Mix the sauce ingredients ahead.

   ⏲ 5 min

2. Heat plenty of oil and fry the eggplant until golden and soft, then remove (or microwave it first to use less oil).

   ⏲ 6 min

3. In the remaining oil, cook the ground pork, then add the doubanjiang and fry until the oil turns red.

   ⏲ 3 min

4. Add the garlic, ginger, and white parts of the green onion and fry until fragrant.

   ⏲ 1 min

5. Pour in the mixed yuxiang sauce, bring to a simmer, and return the eggplant to coat.

   ⏲ 2 min

6. Thicken with the cornstarch slurry and stir in the green onion tops. Serve with rice.

   ⏲ 1 min

Tips & Variations

The basics behind this dish

• What Sugar Does Besides SweetenCutting the sugar does not just cut sweetness. Colour, moisture, structure, and the counterweight to salt and acid — which is why savoury dishes call for it too.
• Browning and the Maillard ReactionMeat fails to brown for one of three reasons: it is wet, the pan is cool, or you put too much in at once. Plus how the brown film stuck to the pan becomes your sauce.
• Cooking Meat: Temperature, Resting, and Cutting Against the GrainDoneness is a core temperature, not a number of minutes. What resting actually does, how to handle a thick cut, and why the direction you slice changes the texture.