Szechuan Eggplant Recipe
This is a very easy Szechuan eggplant recipe inspired by the cuisine of the Chinese province of Szechuan. The eggplant is cooked in a delicious sauce and makes for a great side dish to fried rice or noodles.
Ingredients
- 3 cups eggplant cut into 1" wide wedges or cubes use the large, purple variety
- 5-6 shallots or pearl onions
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic add more if you can tolerate it
- 1 teaspoon red red chilli sauce Sriracha, Maggi, or even chilli flakes will work
- 2 tablespoons of soya sauce
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornflour or corn starch
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar or jaggery
- A fistful coriander leaves / cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil Indian gingelly oil or peanut oil
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wide pan and when it starts to smoke, add the eggplant in 2 batches, frying until sticky and brown.
- Add salt and pepper to this, drain, and set aside
- In the same pan, more oil if required and fry the shallots until soft
- To this, add the red chilli sauce (or flakes) and minced garlic. Saute for a few seconds
- Meanwhile, mix the soya sauce, vinegar, corn starch, sugar, and some salt in a bowl to make the Szechuan sauce
- Add this to the shallot mixture and cook on medium-high heat until it starts to bubble
- Tip in the fried eggplant and mix well until the sauce coats the eggplant
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with fried rice or noodles. Goes great even with plain steamed rice
Notes
- You can coat the eggplant in some plain flour or rice flour before frying, for a more crisp coating around it
- You can also deep fry the eggplant instead of pan-frying
- Don't skimp on the pepper. To make an even more authentic version, use szechuan pepper powder
- Adjust the heat to your preference, I generally don't make it too spicy
- If you don't have coriander leaves in hand, you can also use spring onions to garnish, or even toasted sesame seeds
- You can use spring onions or regular purple onions (scallions, green onions) instead of the shallots too, for a different flavour
- Use the Asian eggplant for best results. They are long and purple. If not available where you live, use the regular fat eggplant or smaller purple Indian brinjal