Savory Crispy Eggplants
User Reviews
5
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Prep Time
10 mins
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Cook Time
7 mins
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Total Time
20 mins
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Servings
2
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Calories
427 kcal
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Course
Main Course
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Cuisine
Chinese
Savory Crispy Eggplants
Description
Eggplant wedges are prepared by trimming and cutting into triangular wedges before soaking in salted water, which helps soften them and ensures thorough cooking during frying. They are then coated thoroughly with potato starch, preferred for its crisp texture and pale appearance when fried. The eggplants are deep-fried in vegetable oil until golden and crisp outside.
The bowl sauce incorporates a balanced blend of umami components from soy sauce, oyster sauce, and black vinegar, sweetened slightly and flavored with toasted Sichuan peppercorn for mild numbing spice. Ginger, garlic, scallion, and dried chili peppers add pungency and heat, contributing to the overall savory profile when combined with the fried eggplants.
This dish is intended to be served immediately to retain its crispiness, as it softens when cooled.
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant , cut into wedges by rotating
- coriander stem , cut into sections
- 1 cup potato starch , or potato starch
- 4 tbsp. vegetable oil
Bowl Sauce
- 1 tsp. sugar
- white pepper dash
- 2 tbsp. soy sauce light
- 1 tbsp. black vinegar
- 1 tbsp. oyster sauce
- 2 tsp. sesame oil
Aromatics and Spices
- 1/2 thumb ginger , shredded
- 2 garlic shredded, cloves
- 1 scallion , cut into sections
- 5 dried chili pepper , cut into shreds too
- 1 tsp. Sichuan peppercorn
Instructions
- Cut the eggplants into 2 cm widgets. Here is the tip of cutting widgets, cut a triangle area off the eggplant, rotate the eggplants and continue to cut the next wedges. If you are not familiar with this cutting method, simply cut strips.
- Add around 1 teaspoon of salt in a large pot of water and then soak the eggplant in the salty water. Absorbing some water can shorten the time of cooking and we can guarantee the eggplants are well cooked in short deep frying process. This also helps to attach the starch in the next step.
- Add starch (cornstarch or potato starch) by batches and make sure each piece of the eggplants is well coated by starch. I highly recommend using potato starch for this dish because it gives a lovely white and crispy shell.
- When the eggplant is ready, shred ginger, garlic and dried chili peppers. Then cut coriander stem into sections too if using. Then whisk all the ingredients for the bowl sauce together in a small bowl.
- Add around 4 tablespoon of oil in wok and shallow fry the eggplant widgets until slightly golden brown. Fry the eggplant widgets for two batches and try to leave some space among each widgets because they may stick together at the very beginning. But if this happens, don't worry. They can be separated after well fried.
- Discard extra oil and leave any 1 tablespoon of oil in wok. Fry garlic, ginger, scallion section, dry chili pepper and Sichuan peppercorn over slow fire for 1 minute until aroma. Add the shallow fried eggplants in. Pour in the bowl sauce. Quickly mix well. At last, add coriander stem. Quickly mix again and serve hot!
Notes
- Serve this dish immediately after cooking to enjoy the crispy texture; it will lose crispness as it cools.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 2Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 427 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 427kcal | 21% |
| Carbohydrates | 88g | 29% |
| Protein | 10g | 20% |
| Fat | 6g | 9% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 2g | 10% |
| Sodium | 1079mg | 45% |
| Potassium | 1446mg | 31% |
| Fiber | 13g | 52% |
| Sugar | 14g | 28% |
| Vitamin A | 457IU | 9% |
| Vitamin C | 11mg | 12% |
| Calcium | 100mg | 10% |
| Iron | 2mg | 11% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
5
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