Chinese at home

Last week, I received an email from my friend Lou who now lives in Greece. After reading my earlier blog on Noble Palace, she bemoaned the lack of good Chinese restaurants in Athens.

I agree with Lou that it is difficult to replicate Chinese restaurant dishes at home. The preparation and actual cooking takes a lot of time and work. And of course, then there is getting the taste just right. However, thanks to another good friend, Shogo, who shared this simple recipe to satisfy Chinese food cravings with minimal effort. According to Shogo, this recipe was taught to him by a Sichuan chef, when he was studying in Tianjin, who instructed him to share it with all his friends.

The Spicy Sichuan Eggplant Dish (called Yuxiang Qiezi in Chinese)

2 or 3 big eggplants

1 tablespoon of doubanjiang sauce (spicy chili bean sauce)

1 tablespoon of chili paste (Shogo recommends 'Guilin Chili Sauce' made by a company called Lee Kum Kee)

1/2 tablespoon of sugar

a little bit of rice wine (sake or Xiaoxing rice wine)

1/2 tablespoon of vinegar

1/2 tablespoon each of garlic, spring onion and ginger, all chopped.

1. Cut the eggplants into 10cm x 3-4cm chunks, and deep-fry them.
2. Leave a little bit of oil in the wok, then put in the garlic, spring onion, ginger, doubanjiang paste and chili paste and stir-fry. When fragrant, add the deep-fried eggplants.
3. Add the suger, sake and stir-fry.
4. Next, add the vinegar and stir fry for about a minute.
5. If there is a lot of sauce, you can thicken it by adding a water-cornflour mixture. Serve.