Spicy Chinese Eggplant

I cannot tell enough how much my husband likes Eggplant. If we go to any Asian restaurant and eggplant is on the menu, you can be guaranteed that it will be on our table. The fact that 7 times out of 10 it ends up not being up to the mark, under cooked, not tasty etc. etc. does not deter the Mr. from ordering it yet another time. So much to the point that now we have a rule that he gets to order this only every other time :)

That brings you to this post. I wanted to recreate his much loved Eggplant recipe and after hunting around a bit found this online from food network that I could adapt without using any sauce containing meat or seafood. I also did not deep fry the eggplant, instead sauteed them well. This tastes really good and goes well paired with plain white or sticky rice. So much that even I was willing to accept eggplant was not bad after all :)

Time:  30 min

Difficulty Level: Easy - Medium

Ingredients:

Sauce:

• 2 tbsp vegetarian broth
• 1 tbsp hoisin sauce (Stir fry sauce)
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tsp Chinese black vinegar ( I used rice vinegar)
• 2 tsp plum sauce

• 4 Chinese eggplants ( 1 pound) stems removed
• Vegetable oil for sauteing
• 2 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 4 dried whole chile peppers
• 2 green onions, cut into bits
• chopped cilantro leaves or green onions

Method of Preparation:

1. Combine sauce ingredients in a small bowl; mix well.
2. Peel the skin partially if you like else just cut the eggplant into 3 inch long strips like french fries. Heat oil at high heat (350 F) and saute these till well cooked, not too mushy and then keep aside.
3. Place wok over a high heat until hot. Add 1 tablespoon of deep-frying oil and swirl to coat the sides. Add the garlic, ginger, dried chiles and green onion; cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the sauce and bring to a simmer. Add the cooked eggplant and stir to coat. Scoop onto a warm serving platter. Serve, garnished with cilantro or green onions.