← Nouns Cooking · Chinese

Ingredients

• 300 g aubergine (1 large Chinese or ½ globe), roll-cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp cornflour, for coating
• 250 g floury or all-purpose potatoes, peeled and cut into wedges
• 1 green pepper, cut into bite-size pieces
• 6 tbsp vegetable oil, for shallow frying
• 3 cloves Garlic, finely chopped
• 2 Spring onion, chopped
• 60 ml Water
• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1½ tsp Dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
• 1½ tsp Sugar
• 1 tsp Cornflour (cornstarch)
• salt

Method

1. Toss the aubergine with a good pinch of salt and leave for 10 min, then pat dry with kitchen paper and toss in the 2 tbsp cornflour. Stir the sauce ingredients together.
2. Heat the oil in a wok over medium heat. Fry the potato for 6–8 min, turning, until golden outside and tender when pierced. Lift out.
3. Fry the aubergine in the same oil for 5–6 min, turning, until golden and soft. Lift out, then fry the pepper for 1 minute and lift that out too.
4. Pour off all but 1 tbsp of oil. Add the garlic and spring onion and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
5. Stir the sauce and pour it in; let it bubble for 30 seconds until thick. Return all the vegetables and toss for 1 minute until glossy. Serve with rice.

Tips

• Cut the potato and aubergine just before cooking so they do not brown.
• Deep-frying is the restaurant way; shallow-frying in batches uses far less oil and works well.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Omnivore's Cookbook Red House Spice