Yu Xiang Qie Zi
鱼香茄子·(yúxiāng qiézi)
The Mother Brine: Pao Cai
Forget the heavy, oil-slicked takeout versions you might have grown up with. This is the real deal, a masterpiece of sweet, sour, and savory alchemy built on the back of the lacto-fermented pickled chilies pulled straight from your mother brine. We skip the messy restaurant deep-fry in favor of a brilliant, practical salt-extraction trick that yields buttery, custard-like eggplant without the grease. Anchored by a heavy hand of ginger and the old-school trick of splitting your garlic into raw and cooked additions, this is exactly what it tastes like in a Sichuan home.
Before you start
Tame the eggplant by drawing out its internal moisture with salt.
Place the eggplant batons in a large bowl, sprinkle with the kosher salt, and toss vigorously. Let sit for 15 to 20 minutes until beads of water form, then gently squeeze the batons by the handful to expel excess water and pat completely dry with paper towels.
Mix the bowl sauce to ensure rapid deployment at the wok.
In a small bowl, whisk together the Chinkiang vinegar, sugar, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, water or stock, and cornstarch until the sugar is fully dissolved.
Ingredients
- Chinese or Japanese eggplants1 lb
- kosher salt1 tsp
- neutral cooking oil3 tbsp
- Sichuan pickled red chilies2 tbsp
- Pixian broad bean paste1 tbsp
- fresh ginger1 tbsp
- cloves garlic6 large
- scallions3 med
- ground pork4 oz
- Chinkiang black rice vinegar1 1/2 tbsp
- granulated sugar1 1/2 tbsp
- light soy sauce1 tbsp
- dark soy sauce1/2 tsp
- water or unsalted chicken stock3 tbsp
- cornstarch or potato starch1 tsp
Method
- 01
Pan-fry the salted eggplant until blistered and tender.
Heat a wok or large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat with 2 tablespoons of neutral oil. Add the dried eggplant in a single layer and pan-fry, tossing occasionally, until the skin is blistered and the flesh is golden-brown, about 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate.
- 02
Brown the ground pork to build a savory foundation.
Lower the heat to medium and add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil. Add the ground pork and break it up with a spatula until crispy and browned, about 2 minutes.
- 03
Awaken the aromatics and chili pastes.
Push the pork to the side and add the minced pickled chilies and broad bean paste. Stir-fry for 30 seconds until the oil turns a brilliant, fragrant red, then add the ginger, exactly half of the minced garlic, and the scallion whites. Stir-fry for another 30 seconds, taking care not to burn the garlic.
- 04
Return the eggplant to the wok and introduce the bowl sauce.
Toss the softened eggplant back in to coat it in the red chili oil. Give your pre-mixed bowl sauce a quick stir to lift the settled starch, then pour it around the edges of the hot wok.
- 05
Thicken the sauce and add the raw garlic punch off the heat.
Increase the heat to high and toss gently as the sauce rapidly bubbles, thickens, and turns glossy, about 1 minute. Turn off the heat entirely, immediately stir in the remaining raw garlic and scallion greens, and serve at once.
Notes
Keep the fish out of fish-fragrant eggplant.
Despite the name, there is no seafood in authentic Yu Xiang. The fish fragrance refers to the classic combination of aromatics historically used to mask the muddy flavors of river fish. Resist any urge to add fish sauce or oyster sauce.
The garlic split is non-negotiable.
Dividing the garlic into two additions fried early for sweet caramelized notes, and stirred in raw off the heat for a sharp, volatile bite is a classic grandma secret that cuts right through the rich sauce.
From Cook Sichuan in America.