HomeCook Fish Fragrant Braised Eggplant | Yue Heong Kei Chi 魚香茄子

soy sauce

🥗Healthier: low-sodium soy sauce

💰Cheaper: tamari

Low-sodium soy sauce reduces sodium intake while maintaining flavor.

sesame oil

🥗Healthier: olive oil

💰Cheaper: vegetable oil

Olive oil provides a healthier fat option.

chili paste

🥗Healthier: sriracha

💰Cheaper: red pepper flakes

Sriracha offers a similar heat with a different flavor profile.

cornstarch

🥗Healthier: arrowroot powder

💰Cheaper: flour

Arrowroot is a gluten-free thickener.

Prepare chopped ginger, garlic, red shallots, sliced spring onions, salted fish cut into cubes, and yellow rock sugar.

Cut pork belly strips into small pieces and place them in a mixing bowl.

Marinate the pork with shaoxing wine, light soy sauce, white pepper powder, and potato starch, then mix well.

Set the marinated pork aside while preparing the sauce.

In a small bowl, combine water, shaoxing wine, oyster sauce, yellow rock sugar, chili bean sauce, light soy sauce, Chinese black vinegar, dark soy sauce, sesame oil, white pepper powder, flounder fish powder, and chicken powder, then stir to mix the sauce.

Heat oil in a large pot to about 200 degrees Celsius.

Cut the eggplant into quarters, about 8 centimeters in length.

Flash fry the eggplant in the hot oil for about 1 minute until they start to change to a light golden color, then remove and place in a colander.

In a wok, heat more oil and add ginger, garlic, and red shallots, sweating them until fragrant.

Add salted fish cubes and stir until aromatic, then add the marinated pork and stir-fry for about a minute until the pork loosens up.

Drizzle shaoxing wine over the pork and stir.

Add the prepared sauce to the wok and bring everything to a boil.

Once boiling, add the fried eggplant and let it braise with the pork for about 6 to 8 minutes.

Finish with sliced spring onions and stir everything gently.

Add potato starch slurry to thicken the sauce before serving.

Cooking Techniques

Equipment Needed

Spice Level:

Allergens