Silky Eggplant With Spicy Mince Sauce 香辣肉碎茄子

Working up to 9 hours a day 6 days a week in a commercial kitchen without adequate support means I rarely cook at home these days. And when I do, simple no fuss dishes such as this soul warming eggplant dish from my childhood days are the preferred choice.

What's not to like about a bowl of silky pieces of eggplants swimming in a spicy mince sauce? It reminds me of home and even after I discovered the exotic fish flavoured eggplant (魚香茄子) from Sichuan, it continues to be my most favourite eggplant dish of all time. 

P.S It's good to be back knowing there are still readers who continue to read and cook using recipes from my once abandoned blog. Also a big thank you for all your encouraging comments since my return!

serves 4 to 6 as part of a Chinese meal

you'll need;

1 kg of oriental eggplants or continental eggplants, cut into chunks

oil for deep frying

5 cloves of garlic, chopped

5 bird chillies, chopped

3 cm knob of ginger, chopped

2 tbs of yellow bean paste

1 tbs of fermented black beans, chopped

2 tbs of oyster sauce

2 tbs of dark soy

3 tbs of sugar

a good splash of Chinese cooking wine

2/3 cup of water

corn flour solution

2 spring onions, chopped

for the mince;

250 g of mince of your choice

1 tbs of light soy

1 tbs of Chinese cooking wine

1 tsp of sesame oil

a pinch of white pepper

1 tbs of corn flour

Chop garlic, chillies and ginger and set aside. Chop spring onions and set aside.

Cut eggplants into large chunks, soak in water for for 15 minutes and drain well. This prevents the eggplant from soaking excessive amount of oil during the frying process.

Soak off excess water from the eggplants with a tea towel and fry eggplants in hot oil in batches until golden and tender. Drain well and set aside.

Saute chopped garlic, chillies and ginger with a little oil until fragrant then add in the mince and continue to cook on high heat, breaking up large lumps until the mince is no longer pink.

Add yellow bean paste, chopped fermented black beans and the rest of the seasonings and mix well, cook for a minute on high heat, stirring constantly.

Add water to the pot and bring it to a simmer, check for seasonings.

Return fried eggplant to the pot and mix well, when it returns to a simmer, slowly add in the corn flour solution to thicken the sauce. Add chopped spring onions and mix well.

Serve with plenty of steamed rice and enjoy! :)