Fragrant Eggplant
1 large eggplant, diced
4 tablespoons soy sauce
3 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup distilled white vinegar
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons dry sherry, divided
1 teaspoon crushed dried red pepper
6 slices ginger, about the size and thickness of a quarter
4 scallions, chopped, separate white and green parts
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1. Sprinkle eggplant with salt and place in a colander to drain. Let sit for 15 minutes. Squeeze as much liquid out as possible. In a small bowl, combine soy sauce, vegan sugar, vinegar and water.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon dry sherry in a large skillet or wok. Add red peppers and stir. Add ginger and white part of scallion. Stir fry briefly until ginger becomes fragrant.
3. Add the squeezed eggplant and saute approximately 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until eggplant is thoroughly cooked. You shouldn't have any trouble with sticking because the eggplant still has a bit of moisture in it but if it does, add a little bit of water or sherry.
4. Add soy sauce mixture and cook over high heat until most of the liquid is evaporated and eggplant is thoroughly coated with reduced sauce, about 5 minutes.
5. Combine 2 tablespoons sherry with cornstarch. Add chopped green part of scallions and sherry mixed with cornstarch. Stir and cook until thick. Serve hot over plain rice.
Source of recipe: Radically adapted from Ethnic Cuisine by Elisabeth Rozin.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
I made this tonight and chopped the ginger, served everything over a few leaves of romain in a tortilla as an asian wrap. We really enjoyed it.
I made this last night and it was awesome! The only changes I made were: used a medium eggplant because that's all I had, finely chopped the ginger to get the flavor all throughout the dish, and threw in some garlic chives just because I had them. DH thought it was too vinegary, but I thought it was fine (then again, I love vinegar). But I think next time I'll reduce the vinegar a bit for DH, and I'll use a bigger eggplant so I have more leftovers. :)
Tonight I used two medium sized eggplants and added about 1/2 cup of water when I started cooking the eggplant and it turned out perfect, my parents and brother (who aren't vegetarian) all loved it!
I've made this recipe many times. I use rice vinegar instead of white vinegar, I use powdered ginger instead of fresh (I never have fresh on hand), I omit the scallions and add a clove or two of minced garlic. It is a bit spicy for some of my family but I think it is perfect. I'll try to remember to add pictures after I make it again tonight.
Sometimes older eggplant can be really bitter, even if you salt it.
hmm... mine turned out really acidic or sour, it was hard to eat. I ended up throwing it away. I wonder why this is?
This was AMAZING! ;)b Maybe I like things really hot, but I actually had to go back and add more red pepper!
This is really yummy. I'm eating it for lunch right now. I made a few very minor changes. I used apple cider vinegar instead of white, and I added a giant bunch of kale while my liquid was evaporating. Very yummy! Especially if you love eggplent, like me, but don't love how it is usually coated in oil.
I've been trying lots of these eggplant recipes to try and get one that sort of tastes like what I used to eat in China, and I have to say, this is my absolute FAVOURITE one!! Delicious!! I made it for the first time tonight and I'm going to make it MANY times to come. Wonderful.