Friday, February 15, 2008

Hot and Sour Chinese Eggplant

This recipe tastes very much like the eggplant dish we ate and fell in love with in China. It is quick and easy and cooks in a dark, sweet and tangy sauce. Serve with white or brown rice.

1 eggplant (cut into 1 inch cubes)
3 T soy sauce (I prefer light sodium)
2 T red wine vinegar
2 T sugar
1 green chile pepper chopped, or red pepper flakes (optional)
2 t cornstarch
1 t chili oil, or to taste
1 t salt
4 T vegetable oil

Place the eggplant cubes into a large bowl and sprinkle with salt. Fill with enough water to cover and let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse well and drain on paper towels.
In a small bowl stir together the soy sauce, red wine vinegar, sugar, chile pepper, cornstarch and chili oil. Set aside.
Heat the oil in a large skillet or wok over med-high heat. Fry the eggplant until it is tender and begins to brown-about 10 min. Pour in the sauce and cook and stir until the sauce is thick and the eggplant is evenly coated. Serve immediately with rice.




3 comments:

Sarah said...

A few questions:
Do you peel the eggplant before you cut it up?
Could you use a can of green chilies?
What is chili oil?

Ruth said...

No, you don't peel the eggplant. I haven't tried it with a can of green chilles, but I think it would change the consistancy of the sauce unless you drained it very well. Chili oil is found in a small bottle in the ethnic food isle at the store.

Sarah said...

I made this last night and it was really good! I was surprised at how filling it was with just eggplant in it (I served it with rice and cream cheese wontons).

The sauce was very yummy and would probably be great on many other veggies and meats. I will have to experiment!