Description
A Sichuan-derived side dish fully established in Taiwanese eateries. Eggplant—bare-fried gooey—is stir-fry-braised with minced pork, doubanjiang, garlic, and vinegar in a complex 'fish-fragrant' sauce.
Restaurants serving Fish-Fragrant Eggplant
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On this site you can check dictionary details and, later, places to buy or eat related items.
The Recipe section below is a general reference, not a recipe from the listed shops.
Recipe
Ingredients
- Eggplant
- Minced pork
- Doubanjiang
- Garlic
- Black vinegar
- Sugar
Instructions
- [Authentic Recipe]
- [Bare-frying Eggplant (Crucial)] Cut eggplant into large chunks (or batons). To fix the purple color and create a gooey texture, bare-fry briefly in 180°C+ hot oil for dozens of seconds, drain.
- [Yu Xiang Sauce] 'Yu Xiang (Fish-fragrant)' refers to seasoning using aromatics for cooking fish (garlic, ginger, scallions) mixed with doubanjiang, vinegar, sugar (no actual fish). Mix soy sauce, sugar, black vinegar, wine, potato starch slurry in a bowl.
- Heat oil in a wok, fry minced pork until crumbly.
- Add minced garlic, ginger, scallions, and plenty of 'La Doubanjiang' to sauté fragrantly.
- Return bare-fried eggplant, vigorously pour the 'Yu Xiang Sauce'.
- Toss on high until the sauce firmly coats the eggplant and the whole becomes gooey.
Learn more Spice, substitutes, tips
Key spices
Doubanjiang richness and black vinegar fruity acidity
Substitutes at Japanese supermarkets
Japanese eggplant (more watery, so shorten bare-frying time)
Pairing
White Rice(Supreme when poured over rice)
Trivia
[For Everyone] The root of Japan's 'Mapo Eggplant', but Taiwan's 'Yu Xiang' features a strong assertion of black vinegar acidity and sugar sweetness amidst Doubanjiang heat. The eggplant absorbs oil and sauce umami like a sponge; one bite oozes hot juice. The ultimate rice companion.
Eating tips & etiquette
[Unique Eating] Scoop the gooey eggplant and minced pork sauce with a spoon, dump it over white rice to eat mindlessly like a 'Mapo Eggplant Bowl'!
Allergen
Soy, Pork, Wheat (from soy sauce)