Yu xiang qie zi, ι±Όι¦θε, or fish-fragrant eggplant, is a saucy, garlicky, tender eggplant miracle.
Yu xiang ι±Όι¦ is one of the twenty-four flavour combinations of Sichuanese cooking. Others include suan la ι ΈθΎ£, guai wei ζͺε³ or hong you ηΊ’ζ²Ή – sour-hot, strange flavour and red oil. Yu xiang means fish-fragrant, even though this dish contains no fish.
Legend has it that a wife, using the remains of last night’s fish dinner, managed to prepare a dish so flavourful that the husband was convinced it contained fish (which, at the time, was a luxury). Either way, modern recipes forgo using day-old fish but have kept the flavour combination of ginger, spring onions, garlic and black vinegar – meant to eliminate fishy flavours and highlight the natural fragrance of ingredients.
As with most Chinese wok-based cooking, you need to prepare all the ingredients in advance. You can’t step away to dice another ingredient while your dish burns in the pan. If you don’t have a wok, don’t worry. This recipe is more forgiving than much other Chinese cooking as it becomes quite saucy, and only requiring high heat for the initial sear on the pork, aromatics and eggplant. For a very good run-down, albeit with steamed eggplant, have a look at Sichuanese chef Wang Gang’s video.
Ingredients
- Eggplant
- Garlic
- Chilli, preferably fresh
- Ginger
- Spring onions
- Minced pork (optional)
- Doubanjiang, or Chinese fermented bean paste. Laoganma, in the red jar, makes a good version that’s available in an Asian grocer near you. If you don’t have this, just add a little more soy sauce as this contributes quite a lot of the salt.
- Sauce
- 3 tbsp water
- 1 tbsp black vinegar (Chinkiang or otherwise)
- 1 tbsp soy
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine (you can substitute with mirin or even a small splash of sherry)
- 1 tsp starch (corn, potato, arrowroot all work)
- 1/2 tsp MSG
Method
First, mix your sauce. You want something balanced and salty, tart, sweet. Feel free to adjust to your liking. Make sure you stir the mixture before adding to your pan later on as the corn starch will sink to the bottom.
Next, slice your vegetables. Cut eggplant into finger-sized batons. Mince garlic and ginger, minimum one tablespoon of each. Mince chilli, if using. Slice spring onions into segments.
Heat a large, heavy-bottomed pan until 2 tbsp neutral oil almost begins to smoke. Cast iron works well but might be too small. You can even use a large saucepan – just take care to frequently move your ingredients so they brown but don’t burn. If you have a wok with high enough BTU to stir fry, use that.
Fry eggplant for about five minutes or until golden brown and beginning to soften. They will only be cooked later on for a further two or three minutes, so you want them close to cooked. Remove from pan.
Fry pork mince, if using, over medium-high heat until the fat is rendered and the pork is brown. Add ginger, garlic, spring onions, chilli and doubanjiang and fry for two minutes. Add the sauce, stir to combine, then return the eggplant to the pan.
Reduce to your liking, then taste for seasoning and adjust as necessary. Serve over steamed rice.