Hot Sour Aubergines Recipes

HOT & SOUR AUBERGINES

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix together the sauce ingredients. Heat a large frying pan and pour in 1 tbsp of the oil. Season the aubergine and brown on all sides until soft (you may need to add another 1 tbsp oil as they cook) - this will take about 15 mins. Set aside.
• Pour the remaining oil into a wok. Add the onion and garlic, and stir-fry for 3-4 mins on a low heat until the onion is soft and the garlic golden. Add the aubergine and pour the sauce over. Stir together, turn the heat down to low and cover with a lid for 2 mins. Take the lid off and stir-fry again for 1 min more. Serve with chilli slices and coriander sprinkled over.

SWEET AND SOUR EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Place the cubed eggplant in a single layer on a cutting board or a bed of paper towels. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and let stand.
• After about 30 minutes, water droplets will form on the surface of the eggplant.
• Rinse salt from the eggplant thoroughly and pat dry.
• Seed the bell pepper, then cut it into long thin slices. Cut the slices in half.
• In a small mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Reserve.
• In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch with 1 tbsp water till dissolved.
• Pour cornstarch liquid into reserved sauce, whisk till well combined.
• Heat oil in a skillet or wok over medium high till hot (not smoking). Add eggplant cubes and sauté till the edges begin to brown, 4-5 minutes.
• Add the red pepper slices and continue to sauté for 3-4 more minutes till the pepper slices are tender-crisp.
• Reduce heat to medium. Pour the reserved sauce over the top of the eggplant and peppers. Stir the sauce with the vegetables till they are evenly coated. Continue to stir till the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
• Pour over rice, if serving as an entrée. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top of the eggplant and peppers. Serve.

SICHUAN EGGPLANT STIR FRY (鱼香茄子)

Steps:

• Chop eggplant into long sticks of about 2-inch (5-cm) long and 1/4-inch (6-mm) thick.
• Place eggplant in a large bowl and add water to cover. Add 1 teaspoon salt, mix well. Place a pot lid on top to keep the eggplant under water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
• Add all the sauce ingredients into a bowl. Stir to mix well.
• Sprinkle eggplant with cornstarch and mix by hand, until eggplant is evenly coated with with a thin layer of cornstarch.
• Add oil to a large nonstick skillet and heat over medium high heat until hot. Spread eggplant across the bottom of the skillet without overlapping (you might need to cook in 2 or 3 batches). Fry the eggplant one side at a time until all the surfaces are charred and the eggplant turns soft, 5 to 7 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Cook the remaining batch(es) with the same method. If the skillet gets too hot and starts to smoke, turn to medium heat.
• Once the eggplant is all cooked, remove the pan from the stove. Drain extra oil and only leave 1 tablespoon in the pan by pouring the oil into a heatproof bowl, or wipe the pan with a few layers of paper towels attached to the front end of a pair of tongs.
• Add the Sichuan peppercorns into the pan. Cook over medium heat until the peppercorns turn dark brown. Remove them with a spatula and transfer to a small bowl (*Footnote 3). Add the pork. Cook and chop with your spatula, until separated into small bits and cooked through. Add green onion, garlic, ginger, and dried chili peppers. Stir a few times to release the fragrance.
• Stir the sauce again to completely dissolve the cornstarch, then pour into the pan. Stir until the sauce thickens. Return the eggplant to the pan and quickly stir to mix everything well.
• Turn to the lowest heat and taste the sauce (be careful, it will be very hot!) Adjust flavor by sprinkling a bit more salt or sugar, if needed. Turn to medium heat and mix well again. Transfer everything to a plate immediately.
• Serve hot over steamed rice as a main.

HOT AND SOUR CHINESE EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Place the eggplant cubes into a large bowl, and sprinkle with salt. Fill with enough water to cover, and let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse well, and drain on paper towels.
• In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, red wine vinegar, sugar, chile pepper, cornstarch and chili oil. Set the sauce aside.
• Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant until it is tender and begins to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour in the sauce, and cook and stir until the sauce is thick and the eggplant is evenly coated. Serve immediately.

HOT & SOUR AUBERGINE

Steps:

• Put the aubergine in a bowl of lightly salted water and stand for 30 mins to soften. Drain and pat dry. Blanch the green beans in boiling water for 1 min then drain, rinse in cold water and drain again.
• To make the sauce, combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok over medium-high heat. When hot, cook the aubergine pieces until nicely browned on all sides - don't turn them too early, let them get a nice colour first. When they start to brown, add the onion and chilli, and keep stir-frying for 4 mins or until soft.
• Add the sauce and green beans, cover with a lid, lower the heat and simmer for 2 mins or until the aubergine is soft. Serve with rice.

HOT AND SOUR AUBERGINE WITH STICKY RICE

Steps:

• Cook the rice following packet instructions. Fry the onion and aubergine in the oil in a wide shallow pan with a lid on until golden and softened. Stir every few minutes.
• Mix the sugar and vinegar in a small bowl. Add the soy sauce and stir until the sugar dissolves. Add the cornflour and stir until it has dissolved.
• Add the beans and red chilli to the pan and cook for 4 minutes with the lid on. Add the sweet and sour mix, stir and continue cooking for a further 2 minutes with the lid on. Serve with the rice and extra soy and chillies on the side.

KHATTA MEETHA BAINGAN (SWEET AND SOUR EGGPLANT CURRY)

Steps:

• Trim the stems of the eggplants very slightly at the tip and then slit the eggplants into quarters in such that you don't go all the way up to the stem. Leave a bit uncut as this holds the quarters together.
• Heat the cooking oil in a pan and add the curry leaves, mustard and cumin seeds . When they stop spluttering, add the grated ginger and finely minced garlic and sauté for a minute.
• Now add the dried chiles and sauté for another minute or two.
• Add the coriander, turmeric and red chili powders, vinegar, tomatoes, tomato ketchup and stir to mix everything together well. Sauté for a minute.
• Now add the trimmed and slit eggplants, sprinkle with salt to taste and cook till the eggplants are tender.
• When done, turn off the heat and garnish the dish with the chopped coriander leaves.
• Serve with freshly made, hot chapatis (Indian flatbread) or ​ parathas (pan-fried Indian flatbread).

HOT AND SOUR AUBERGINES WITH CARAMELISED CHILLI PEANUTS

Steps:

• To prepare the peanuts mix the nuts with the water and sugar in a large heavy pan.
• Heat slowly until the sugar begins to dissolve and goes a straw like colour.
• Shake the nuts in the pan to ensure they are covered in the caramel. Avoiding stirring as this will make the caramel turn to crystals.
• Once they are fully coated and the nuts are a deep caramel colour turn out on to a baking sheet covered in grease proof paper. Try to avoid the nuts sticking together in clumps.
• While they are still sticky sprinkle over the chilli flakes.
• Leave for 10-15mins, or until the sugar has set.
• In the meantime, mix the soy sauce with the cornflour in a bowl until it has completely dissolved.
• Next, stir in the red wine vinegar followed by the honey or maple syrup, garlic and ginger.
• Heat a non-stick griddle or wok over a high heat and add the sesame oil.
• Slice the peppers and aubergines into long, strips roughly 1cm wide and fry them in the pan quickly and fiercely.
• Let the vegetables brown around the edges and become soft.
• Fry off the vegetables for 5mins, before adding the spring onions and bamboo shoots for another five minutes.
• Pour over the sauce and cook for another 5-10mins until the sauce is thick and sticky, evenly coating the vegetables.
• Add the chilli to the pan and cook for another 1-2 minutes.
• Serve by sprinkling over the caramelised peanuts and any extras like sesame seeds and coriander.