serves
4
prep
15 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Easy
serves
4
people
preparation
15
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Easy
level
Ingredients
- 300 g (10½ oz) long thin eggplant (aubergine)
- 60 ml (2 fl oz/¼ cup) neutral-flavoured cooking oil
- 10 g (¼ oz) dried red chillies, rehydrated in warm water for 15 minutes and drained
- 10 g (¼ oz) garlic, crushed
- 10 g (¼ oz) piece fresh ginger, julienned
- 1 red Asian shallot, thinly sliced
- Salt and ground white pepper to taste
- Steamed jasmine rice, to serve
- Finely sliced spring onions (scallions), to garnish
Sauce
- 1 tbsp oyster sauce (omit for vegetarian)
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp shaoxing rice wine
- 2 tsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp white sugar
Standing time: 30 minutes.
Instructions
- Cut the eggplant diagonally into 2 cm (¾ in) slices and put in a colander. Sprinkle with salt liberally and allow to sit for at least 30 minutes. Rinse, drain and pat dry with paper towel.
- To make the sauce, combine all the sauce ingredients in a jug.
- Heat a wok over a high heat then add the cooking oil. Fry the chillies, garlic, ginger and shallot for 30 seconds then add the eggplant. Fry, constantly tossing, for 5 minutes until the eggplant is cooked through.
- Add the sauce and stir through. Season with white pepper. Remove from the heat and transfer to a serving dish.
- Garnish with spring onions and serve with rice.
This is an edited extract from The Golden Wok by Diana Chan published by Hardie Grant Books (HB RRP $50). Photography by Armelle Habib.
Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
