Homestyle Braised Eggplant
A smart trick for braised eggplant — flavorful, rice-friendly, and uses less oil.
Ingredients: 2 eggplants, a handful of thin-skinned chili peppers
Seasonings: doubanjiang (broad bean paste) to taste, garlic to taste, light soy sauce to taste, sugar to taste, a splash of vinegar, fine salt to taste, cooking oil to taste
Ingredients
eggplant
2
thin-skinned chili peppers
to taste
doubanjiang (broad bean paste)
to taste
garlic
to taste
light soy sauce
to taste
sugar
to taste
vinegar
a pinch
refined salt
to taste
cooking oil
to taste
Instructions
1
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients.
2
Step 2
Cut the eggplant into thin slices, sprinkle with refined salt and knead evenly. Keep kneading by hand until the eggplant softens, then add water and squeeze out the excess water, squeezing it dry and setting it aside. This prevents the eggplant from blackening and also saves oil.
3
Step 3
Prepare the chili slices. Sauce: mix a bowl of sweet-and-sour sauce. The doubanjiang is original flavor; you can add an extra spoonful of Pixian doubanjiang. I only used thin-skinned chili peppers, so the flavor isn't very spicy and is acceptable for children. With this sauce, the resulting eggplant is salty, spicy, slightly sour but not noticeably so, slightly sweet yet not cloying, and refreshing — a homestyle fish-fragrant flavor.
4
Step 4
Add oil to the pan and sauté the garlic slices until fragrant, then add the eggplant and stir-fry continuously, making sure each slice is evenly heated. Do not add water yet. It is somewhat like the grilled eggplant method.
5
Step 5
When the eggplant changes color, add an appropriate amount of water and the sauce, and braise for two to three minutes until soft and tender. Finally add the chili slices and let everything braise briefly, then adjust the seasoning with salt.
6
Step 6
Plate and serve.
