The best Chinese recipe with eggplant - Sichuan eggplant

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Soft, melt in your mouth eggplant combined with a hit of heat and saltiness make this Chinese recipe with eggplant for the perfect quick dinner.

I’ll admit it I’m an eggplant addict. For those on a vegan diet and even if you’re not eggplant is so versatile. Eggplant also works well for Chinese inspired dishes. When cooked well this Chinese recipe with eggplant has tonnes of flavour and literally melts in your mouth.

This Chinese recipe with eggplant the perfect quick dinner. Sichuan eggplant is one of my regular go to’s. It is so easy to make and there is nothing quite like it. I usually serve mine with rice but it is just as good eaten on its own. Sichuan peppercorns add such a unique taste and this dish is rich in garlic, ginger and chilli. Of course, if you like things a little less spicy, just reduce the number of chillis.

Ingredients for this Chinese recipe with eggplant

For the eggplant:

2 medium sized eggplants

2 tbsp of salt

Rapeseed oil for frying

For the chilli mixture:

6 small red chillis

10 cloves of garlic

a good sized root of ginger (roughly 5cm)

3 tbsp of soy sauce

4 tbsp of rapeseed oil

For the Sichuan salt:

1 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns

1 tbsp of salt

To serve:

4 green onions (spring onions, thinly sliced)

a handful of coriander (sliced including stalks)

Method

To make this Chinese recipe with eggplant. Slice your eggplant into irregular pieces of similar sizes. To do this I halve the eggplants first then chop off a piece and turn the eggplant and chop another piece. You want the pieces to be cut in diagonals.

Place the pieces on a large baking tray and Sprinkle the salt over the eggplant. Set aside for half an hour, we do this to extract the water from the eggplant and remove any bitterness. Let sit for half an hour and then rinse the eggplant and pat dry.

Move on to making the chilli mix. Roughly chop the chillis, garlic and ginger. You can do this by hand or to save time use a food processor.

Heat a wok or frying pan and add a generous amount of the oil. On a medium heat, sauté the garlic, ginger and chilli. Don’t let them brown, you just want them to soften. This should take about 5 minutes. You want it to have a jammy texture. Add the soy sauce. Stir to combine then set aside.

In a separate pan, add the oil and heat til hot and slightly spitting. Brown your eggplant pieces. You want them to be golden brown in colour. Do in batches if your pan isn’t big enough.

In a high speed blender or pestle and mortar grind the Sichuan peppercorns with the salt.

Now we can assemble our Chinese Sichuan eggplant. In a large bowl, add the eggplant, chilli mix, coriander and spring onions and carefully mix until combined.

Spoon onto a plate and sprinkle over some of the Sichuan peppercorn salt.

Enjoy!

Tips

Don’t skip salting the eggplant, it is necessary to remove the bitterness.

If you don’t have rapeseed oil, peanut, sesame or vegetable oil will also work.

I prefer this with spring onions but if you don’t have any, feel free to omit them.

Chinese Sichuan eggplant

Print Recipe

Soft, melt in your mouth eggplant combined with a hit of heat and saltiness make this Chinese Sichuan eggplant the perfect quick dinner.

Prep Time:40 mins

Cook Time:20 mins

Total Time:1 hr

Ingredients

For the eggplant:

• 2 medium sized eggplants
• 2 tbsp of salt
• Rapeseed oil for frying

For the chilli mixture:

• 6 small red chillis
• 10 cloves of garlic
• a good sized root of ginger roughly 5cm
• 3 tbsp of soy sauce
• 4 tbsp of rapeseed oil

:

• 1 tbsp of Sichuan peppercorns
• 1 tbsp of salt

To serve:

• 4 green onions spring onions, thinly sliced
• a handful of coriander sliced including stalks

Instructions

• Slice your eggplant into irregular pieces of similar sizes. To do this I halve the eggplants first then chop off a piece and turn the eggplant and chop another piece. You want the pieces to be cut in diagonals.
• Place the pieces on a large baking tray and Sprinkle the salt over the eggplant. Set aside for half an hour, we do this to extract the water from the eggplant and remove any bitterness. Let sit for half an hour and then rinse the eggplant and pat dry.
• Move on to making the chilli mix. Roughly chop the chillis, garlic and ginger. You can do this by hand or to save time use a food processor.
• Heat a wok or frying pan and add a generous amount of the oil. On a medium heat, sauté the garlic, ginger and chilli. Don’t let them brown, you just want them to soften. This should take about 5 minutes. You want it to have a jammy texture. Add the soy sauce. Stir to combine then set aside.
• In a separate pan, add the oil and heat til hot and slightly spitting. Brown your eggplant pieces. You want them to be golden brown in colour. Do in batches if your pan isn’t big enough.
• In a high speed blender or pestle and mortar grind the Sichuan peppercorns with the salt.
• Now we can assemble our Chinese Sichuan eggplant. In a large bowl, add the eggplant, chilli mix, coriander and spring onions and carefully mix until combined.
• Spoon onto a plate and sprinkle over some of the Sichuan peppercorn salt.

Notes

Don’t skip salting the eggplant, it is necessary to remove the bitterness.

If you don’t have rapeseed oil, peanut, sesame or vegetable oil will also work.

I prefer this with spring onions but if you don’t have any, feel free to omit them.

Course: Uncategorized

Cuisine: Chinese

Author: admin

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