Fish fragrant taste is a representative Sichuan cuisine flavor type, which includes sweet, sour, salty and spicy flavors. Many versions are made with minced pork. My version today is vegan fish fragran eggplant(Yu Xiang Eggplant) without meat. Eggpalnt with minced pork stir fry I posted before can give another reference if you like minced pork added.
You will be wondering if there is any fish in this Yu xiang Eggplant. When it was made for the first time, it was true that the ingredients of fish were added in. Today, the flavor of fish comes from blended various seasonings included chili bean paste, pickled pepper etc. Because of its complex taste, this dish should be called a rice killer, and you can eat a few more bowls of rice with it.
How to prepare
Compared to other methods, I still like deep-frying eggplant. The temperature of the oil is more important when frying the eggplant. It should be about 200 to 240 degrees Celsius. If it is too high, the eggplant will be fried. If it is too low, the dish basically fails because the eggplant is soaked in oil.
Many people now change this deep frying to pan frying for health reasons. In order to make the eggplant absorb less oil.There are many ways to reduce the oil absorption of eggplant:
1.First wrap them in flour and then pan fry them.
2.Let the eggplant soak up the water, then use a paper towel to dry the surface water, and then stir fry or pan fry.
3. Let the eggplant rotate a few times in the microwave until it is almost cooked, then cook.
These methods can all be tried, if you want to make the eggplant less oily.
About yu xiang sauce
In order to get a charming complex taste, pickled pepper, chili bean paste, vinegar, sugar, light soy sauce are all indispensable. Pickled pepper can be said to be the soul of this dish, because it has a sour taste, which is different from the taste of vinegar.
Needless to say garlic, garlic exists where there is eggplant. For eggplant, even if there is no green scallion, there should be garlic chopped as a seasoning.
I put all the seasonings into a bowl to make sauce mixed. This is an easy way, and it’s not bad.
Vegan Fish Fragrant Eggplant(Yu Xiang Eggplant)
Equipment
- Wok for stir-frying
- Pot for deep-fried
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon oil for stir frying
- 1 cup oil for deep-frying
- One big eggplant ,about 380 gram, cut into sections
- 5 cloves garlic, chopped
- 9 gram green scallions, chopped
- For mixed sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon starch
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon sugar
- 25 gram pickled pepper, chopped
- 1/2 tablespoon chili bean paste
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 tablespoon vinegar
- 6 tablespoon water for mixed sauce
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wok, after it beginning to smoke, add eggplant sections, deep frying
- Transfer deep fried eggplant to a plate
- Mixed the sugar, salt, light soy sauce, chili bean paste, vinegar, water, starch in a big bowl
- Add one tablespoon oil to a wok, add chopped garlic，chopped pickled pepper, stir frying for 5 seconds, add mixed sauce, bring to a boil
- Add fried eggplant, let the eggplant all be in sauce, turn off the heat.
- Serve with rice.
