Monday, 21 December 2009

• Recipe: Chinese Eggplant

  
  
  

  I'm back with yet another recipe now that I am done with exams for today (and almost for the semester - 1 more to go!). This recipe is for Chinese eggplant, and I got the idea to post it because I'm going to be making it tomorrow and bringing it with me to my exam period, since we're going to be doing presentations and eating food. I am presenting a social studies unit on China, so I thought I'd stick with the theme.
  
  Keep in mind this recipe may call for some things you cannot get at regular grocery stores. I have an Asian market near me so I can get all this stuff. This recipe is also one that does not have measurements, as my friend who dictated it to me does not measure when she makes it. This is an authentic Chinese dish, passed on to me from my friend who lives in Wuhan, Hubei, which is in the center of China. You can make this to taste, adjusting the amounts of soy sauce and spicy eggplant sauce to get you preferred level of saltiness/spiciness. Don't expect it to be very spicy, this dish is usually moderately spicy at best.
  
  Authentic Spicy Chinese Eggplant:
  Equipment: a wok pan or some other frying pan of a similar shape and capacity
  
  Ingredients: Eggplant (If you can get it, use Chinese eggplant which is longer, thinner, and lighter in color than regular Eggplant. If not, regular eggplant works fine) cut into small rectangular pieces, Cooking oil (canola, vegetable, sunflower, sesame, etc - NOT olive oil), fresh sliced garlic, one or two pieces of fresh sliced ginger, sliced green onions, Chinese cooking wine, light soy sauce, spicy eggplant sauce, salt, pepper, water.
  Directions:
  
  1. Cut up eggplant and put it in water for a bit.
  
  2. Pour some oil in the pan, cook eggplant in the oil until soft.
  
  3. Remove eggplant from pan and set aside.
  
  4. Add more oil if necessary. Add green onion slices, one or two slices of fresh ginger, and fresh sliced garlic. Cook until there is an aroma from the spices.
  
  5. Put the eggplant back in the pan.
  
  6. Add light soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine.
  
  7. Add spicy eggplant sauce and a tiny amount of water, then quickly cover the pan so the steam stays inside and helps cook the food.
  
  8. Cook for a while, adding SMALL amounts of water as needed
  
  9. Before serving, try to remove the slices of ginger as they are mainly for flavor. It doesn't taste very good when someone accidentally tries to eat them.
  
  This dish is usually served over white rice. It makes a good vegetarian dish, and as far as I know it is vegan as well, unless there are animal byproducts in the soy sauce, cooking wine, or spicy eggplant sauce I am unaware of. I am a proud omnivore so I don't usually check for that.
  
   There is also a variation that involves adding ground pork. For that, you want to marinate the pork in salt, pepper, cooking wine, and light soy sauce ahead of time. You would add the pork to the pan between steps 4 and 5.
  
  I am also making a Chinese egg and tomato dish tomorrow, so perhaps I will add that recipe to this blog after my exam!
  
  

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