This is a spicy Chinese stir fry dish, but it is not just a burning chilli kind of hot, this dish is a very typical flavour from the Central part of China, Sichuan.
Sichuan is well known for its spicy cuisine and use of Sichuan peppers due to its more humid climate. and is known as one of the Four Great Traditions of Chinese cuisine. The cuisine there is of "one dish, one shape, hundreds of dishes, hundreds of tastes", as the saying goes, to describe its acclaimed diversity. The most prominent traits of Sichuanese cuisine are described by four words: spicy, hot, fresh and fragrant.
The Ingredients might be a little complicated here, but you should have most the ingredients below if you cook regularly, the only special ingredients you might need to stock would be the Sichuan Pepper and Sichuan Chilli Bean Paste, also known as "Toban Djan", is a Sichuan-style ingredient paste with a pungent blend of salted chilli peppers, fermented with soybean and broad beans pastes. it is an essential ingredient in the classic Kung Pao Chicken dish and a great addition to any stir-fry. so you can use it to create many delicious dishes with it!
Ingredients:
Chopped Ginger 1 tbsp Chopped garlic 1 tbsp
Sichuan Pepper 1 tsp Sichuan chilli bean paste 1 1/2 tbsp Sugar 1 tsp Light Soy sauce 2 tsp Toasted Sesame see oil, a dash Vinegar 1 tbsp Water 100ml Spring onion 2, chopped for garnish Salt and pepper to taste
Aubergine 2 Dry wood eat mushroom a handful ( soak in warm water for at least 1/2 hour, discard the water) Cooked white kidney bean or butter bean 1 cup ( canned is okay)
Method:
1) Slice the aubergine in 1 x 2 inch long chucks, around 1 cm think, rub 1 tbsp of salt and massage them, but them in a bowl for 15 mins, this is to remove the excess water, so after this rinse off the salt and drain the aubergine in a sieve.
2) in a wok or large frying pan, add a tbsp of oil, put the aubergine flat on the hot surface, do it in 2 batch if too much aubergine đ in one go, you need the hot surface to brown the aubergine on both sides, so they would be juiced and soft in the middle, take them out and rest in a plate.
3) in the same wok, heat up a tbsp of oil, fry the ginger and garlic, when they smell aromatic, add the Sichuan Pepper, release the aroma, then add the bean paste, mix well with the garlic ginger, straight away add the bean, soy, sugar, vinegar, stir together until they are sizzling again.
4) return the aubergine back to the wok, add enough water to make up the sauce, cook for 3-4 minutes or until the aubergine look soft but not mushy.
5) taste it and add more soy sauce or salt and pepper if you need, because the size of aubergine varies! đ
6) add the sesame seed oil and stir in before take the up, garnish with the spring onion, and sliced some cucumber on the sides if you like, the taste of the dish is very good contrast with the refreshing cucumbers đ„!
7) enjoy with some rice or noodle!
This is quite a basic method of Sichuan flavour, hope you like it!
For more fierce and advance version, add extra Chilli Bean Paste into the wok with the garlic and ginger, you can create the really authentic Hot and Numb Sichuan taste!