Yuxiang (鱼香) literally means “fish aroma”, and is often referred to as garlic sauce in the US. This classic Sichuan flavor mix actually got its name for being originally used to cook fish in order to cover up the unpleasant fishy smell, before later on being improved and applied to many other ingredients, most commonly pork and eggplants. Growing up as a meat eater kid I hated most veggies especially eggplants, until my mom successfully converted me with this exact dish. And thanks to her I get to share this recipe with you.
Watch the video for more details and the trick to achieve perfect non-greasy eggplant texture!
Yuxiang Egglant
Yuxiang (often called "garlic sauce" in the West), properly used, elevates eggplant well beyond what you might have gotten as takeout.
Servings: 3
Calories: 424kcal
Equipment
- Frying pot
Ingredients
Main ingredients
- 2 eggplants (Asian eggplants, if you can get them, though any will do)
- 2½ oz ground pork
- 1½ tbsp doubanjiang
- 5 pickled chilies (You can substitute with dried chili)
- 3 cloves garlic (minced)
- ½ inch ginger (minced)
- ½ tsp Sichuan peppercorn
- 1 tbsp vodka
- 3 oz scallion (diced)
- 3 tbsp corn starch (to coat eggplants)
- 4 tbsp canola oil (for stir-frying)
Stir fry sauce
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tsp dark soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- ¼ tsp chicken bouillon powder
- ½ tbsp corn starch
Instructions
Prep
- Remove the stems from the eggplants and halve lengthwise
- Make horizontal cuts about ½ inch (0.6 cm) apart across the eggplant halves (from the cut side) about ⅔ of the way through the eggplant along the entire length of the eggplant
- Make cuts about ½ inch (0.6 cm) apart (from the cut side) at a 45° angle to the previous cuts about ⅔ of the way through the eggplant along the entire length of the eggplant; every third cut, slice all the way through the eggplant, to create 1½-inch (3.75 cm) chunks of scored eggplant
- Soak the eggplant pieces in water while you work to prevent browning
- Drain the eggplant pieces, and toss in a bowl with corn starch to coat all the pieces evenly
- Mix the ingredients for the stir fry sauce and set aside
- Mince the doubanjiang into a paste
- Dice the pickled peppers; add to the doubanjiang and set aside (if you are using dried chilies, the dice the dried chilies and add to the minced garlic, ginger and Sichuan peppercorn)
Fry the eggplant
- Heat frying oil to 350° F (176° C)
- Individually add the eggplant pieces (to prevent them sticking or the starch from clumping) and fry for about 90 seconds or until a little squishy with a thin shell)
- Remove the eggplant from the oil and allow it to drain on paper towels for at least 10 minutes (alternatively, you can gently squeeze the eggplant pieces to remove excess oil, though this will make the presentation a little less impressive)
Stir fry
- Bring the wok to high heat, then add the oil
- Immediately stir in the ground pork, stirring until the oil appears white from the rendered pork fat
- Add the doubanjiang and pickled chilies, stirring constantly until evenly colorized
- Add the garlic, ginger and Sichuan peppercorns, stirring constantly
- Once you smell the Sichuan peppercorns (about 20 seconds), add the vodka
- As soon as the alcohol smell disappears (about 10 seconds), add the fried eggplant pieces, gently stirring to preserve the integrity of the eggplant
- Once the eggplants are evenly coated, stir the stir-fry sauce (to mix the starch) and add it to the wok
- Once everything is evenly coated, turn off the heat, and add the scallions, stirring gently to mix
- Serve alone or over rice
Notes
- Doubanjiang has chunks of broad beans and larger pieces of chilies that can become an unpleasant surprise in cooked dishes, so most restaurants would mince them into paste before cooking.
- Esterification is used very often in Chinese cooking to remove the unpleasant gamey or fishy flavors from meats, usually by adding rice wine to the meat in a hot wok during stir-frying. I tend to use vodka as an accessible substitute for rice wine. It works great because the relatively high ABV percentage in vodka helps create ester while the neutral taste won’t mess with the taste of the dish. Theoretically any grain-based alcohol with a neutral taste should work as a good substitute for rice wine in Chinese cooking.
- Scallions can be too pungent when consumed raw but have a sweet aroma when cooked that diminishes quickly under heat. That makes the best timing for adding scallions to be right after the stove is turned off when there is still plenty of residual heat in the wok.
- If you can’t find any bright colored long Asian eggplants in your grocery store, use baby eggplants or even regular eggplants. The color won’t be as vibrant, and the texture will be more meaty than juicy but the flavors are gonna be just as fantastic.
Product recommendations
Recommendations and sources for less common ingredients and tools can be found among my Product Recommendations
Nutrition information (per serving)*
Calories: 424kcal | Carbohydrates: 39g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 25g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 17mg | Sodium: 736mg | Potassium: 889mg | Fiber: 10g | Sugar: 16g | Vitamin A: 355IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 60mg | Iron: 2mg
*Please note: nutrition information is my best approximation based on the ingredients I used when creating the recipe; it is intended to be informational only