• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

China Sichuan Food

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Index
  • Sichuan
  • Subscribe
  • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Index
    • Sichuan
    • Subscribe
    • About
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • YouTube
  • ×

    Home » Recipes » Sichuan Recipes

    Chinese Yu Xiang Eggplant Recipe

    Last Modified: November 7, 2022 by Elaine| 67 Comments

    5.2K shares
    • Share on Facebook
    Jump to Recipe - Print Recipe

    Chinese eggplant recipe--Szechuan fish sauce eggplant (Yu Xiang Eggplant) is often listed as Chinese eggplant in hot garlic sauce. It is a savory dish with a fabulous balance of hot, sweet, and sour flavors. This can be the first topping Chinese eggplant recipe.

    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com
    Jump to
    • What's Yu Xiang sauce?
    • What does Yu Xiang Sauce taste?
    • Recipe FAQs
    • Cook eggplants with less oil
    • Ingredients needed
    • Instructions
    • What to serve with?
    • Other Yu Xiang dishes
    • Other eggplants recipes
    • 🧾Recipe

    What's Yu Xiang sauce?

    Yu Xiang sauce or fish flavor sauce is often referred to as hot garlic sauce. It is made with a variety of ingredients including chili peppers, garlic, ginger, scallion, black vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce. The sauce is often used as a combined stir-frying sauce. One of the representatives of Sichuan cuisine is Sichuan eggplant, or  Yu Xiang Qie Zi(鱼香茄子in Chinese), and the famous Yu Xiang Rou Si(鱼香肉丝 or fish-fragrant shredded pork). Some menus name Yu Xiang eggplant as Chinese Eggplants in hot garlic sauce.

    The sauce can also be used to serve as a dipping sauce or make fried rice. There are discussions about the reason why this sauce is called fish fragrance. We get two reasonable reasons here.

    1. the sauce is commonly used to cook fish and then move forward to other dishes. So the sauce is named fish flavor or fish fragrance in Chinese.
    2. The key ingredient pickled chili pepper is pickled with a fish in the jar. So it brings a natural smell of fish.

    So which one looks more reasonable for you?

    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com
    Yu Xiang Sauce

    What does Yu Xiang Sauce taste?

    The Yu Xiang sauce has well-balanced sweet, savory, and hot flavors. This is extremely common in Sichuan cuisine in which many unique flavors can be achieved by adjusting the ratio of the ingredients. This unique fish fragrant sauce is made with pickled red pepper, garlic, ginger, scallions, salt, soy sauce, and vinegar. The particular balanced flavor can be good with almost all types of protein and vegetables. Plus, you can use the sauce to make fried rice too.

    The flavors of Yu Xiang sauce might be slightly different in areas in Sichuan. In some places, only pickled peppers are used while in other places doubanjiang is also used for a stronger flavor and color. Compared with other chili sauces, doubanjiang has a strong capacity of adding red color to the dish.  You can make a quick pickled pepper via this instruction.

    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    Recipe FAQs

    Do I need Sichuan peppercorns in Yu Xiang sauce?

    Although Sichuan peppercorn is commonly used in many Sichuan dishes, we do not need it for the fish fragrant series.

    Can I substitute pickled peppers with other chili peppers?

    Well, as the key ingredient, I highly recommend you try to get some pickled chili peppers. But this can be pickled chili pepper (泡椒) can be replaced by doubanjiang for sure. Although the flavor may differ a lot, I am sure doubanjiang can create lovely flavors too. Also, you can check this fermented chili paste which may work really better as a substitute for Sichuan pickled peppers.

    Cook eggplants with less oil

    One of the reasons why eggplants seem hard to cook is because they absorb lots of oil at the first stage of heating. In restaurants, eggplants are usually deep-fried first before stir fry with seasonings. Deep-frying in a large amount of oil can keep the purple color and cook the eggplants very quickly. So that's a restaurant-efficient pursing method. But it is not a very economic choice for home cooking. So pan-frying sounds like a better choice. We can use pan-frying with a very small amount of oil but achieve a very similar result. Following are tips for pan-frying with less oil at home.

    1. soak the eggplants in salty water for around 15 minutes. The water absorbed can fasten up the cooking process.
    2. Coat a layer of starch on the eggplant strips. Starch helps to form a crispy shell and better sauce attachment. But optional!
    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    Ingredients needed

    Eggplants - almost every type of eggplant works
    ground pork- or chicken or beef
    Pickled peppers - this may be hard to find but can be replaced by doubanjiang in daily cooking.
    Doubanjiang - I combine doubanjiang with pickled peppers to increase the red color of the dish.
    Black vinegar - for the lovely sour taste
    Light soy sauce - for savory basement
    Starch - I recommend using cornstarch or potato starch for coating the eggplants and thickening the bowl sauce.
    Sugar - I use a larger amount of sugar to present a strong sweet flavor.
    Ginger, garlic, and green onion (scallion) - basic aromatics for most Sichuan sauces.

    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    Instructions

    Cut eggplant into strips and then soak them in salty water for 10 minutes. Remember to add weight.  Then drain and spread ½ cup of cornstarch in batches. Mix well, and make sure all of the eggplant strips are well coated.

    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    Add oil to pan or wok and fry eggplants until soft. Transfer out.  You can do this by batches and leave some space between each strip so they will not stick together.

    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com
    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    Heat another 1 tablespoon of oil in a wok, and fry minced pork until crisp and browned. Add doubanjiang and chopped pepper to continue cooking for 1 minute for red oil. Add garlic, chopped peppers, green onion white part, and ginger to stir-fry for the aroma.

    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com
    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    After adding the sauce, add eggplants and then mix well quickly.

    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    What to serve with?

    The top partner for Yuxiang eggplants is plain staple food like steamed rice or noodles because there are lots of sauces that can attach to the grains and noodles.

    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    Other Yu Xiang dishes

    1. Yu Xiang shredded pork
    2. Yu Xiang Tofu

    Other eggplants recipes

    1. Chinese eggplants with minced pork
    2. Savory crispy eggplants
    3. Chinese stuffed eggplants
    4. Di San Xian- eggplants with green pepper and potatoes
    5. Steamed eggplant with a chili sauce

    🧾Recipe

    Yu Xiang Eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    Yu Xiang Qie Zi (Sichuan Eggplant)

    Elaine
    Sichuan style eggplants stir fry
    5 from 15 votes
    Watch Video Print Recipe
    Prep Time 5 mins
    Cook Time 15 mins
    Total Time 20 mins
    Course Side Dish
    Cuisine Sichuan cuisine
    Servings 2
    Calories 204 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 2 long eggplants , around 400g
    • ¼ cup mince pork
    • 1 tbsp. chopped pickled peppers
    • ½ tbsp. broad bean paste , Doubanjiang
    • 2 garlic cloves , chopped
    • 1 tbsp. chopped ginger
    • 2 green onions , white part and green part separately chopped
    • 2 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
    • 1 tsp. salt for soaking
    • starch for coating

    Bowl sauce

    • 2 tsp. light soy sauce
    • 1 tbsp. black vinegar
    • 5 tbsp. water
    • 1 tbsp. starch , cornstarch
    • 2 tbsp. sugar
    • ¼ tsp. salt

    Instructions

    Preparation

    • Prepare the eggplants | Roll cut washed eggplants into long strips (try to keep some skin on each one). Then soak the eggplant strips in salty water for around 15 minutes. Move out and drain. Coat with starch (optional but I recommend using since this helps the sauce attach on the eggplants)
    • Prepare the bowl sauce | Prepare a bowl; mix all the ingredients for stir fry sauce. Then set aside.

    Fry the eggplants

    • Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in wok or a pan and fry the eggplants until slightly browned by batches.

    Make Yu Xiang Sauce

    • Heat another 1 tablespoon of oil in wok, and fry mince pork until crisp and browned. Add doubanjiang and chopped pepper to continue cooking for 1 minute for red oil. Add garlic, chopped peppers, green onion white part and ginger to stir-fry for the aroma.
    • Stir in the sauce. Cook for a while until the sauce is thickened.

    Assemble the dish

    • Mix well and make sure the eggplants are well coated. Move from wok, sprinkle chopped green onion! I highly recommend serving this with steamed rice. The magic sauce can turn plain steamed rice into something extremely delicious.

    Video

    Notes

    Since both doubanjiang and soy sauce contains salt. So spare your salt.

    Nutrition

    Calories: 204kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 2gFat: 15gSaturated Fat: 12gSodium: 1374mgPotassium: 246mgFiber: 2gSugar: 6gVitamin A: 120IUVitamin C: 14.9mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 0.3mg
    Keyword Eggplant
    Tried this recipe?Mention @ChinaSichuanFood
    yu xiang eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

    More Sichuan Recipes

    • Sichuan Peppercorn Chicken
    • Sichuan Soy Sauce Noodles
    • Sichuan Sweetened Soy Sauce
    • Sichuan Style Pork Slices in Garlic Sauce

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Erin

      April 07, 2021 at 1:36 am

      I have some Pixian Doubanjiang in my fridge, do you think that would be good to use in this recipe or should I stick with the standard Doubanjiang?

      Reply
    2. Jessica

      April 29, 2021 at 7:53 am

      5 stars
      This recipe is awesome! I love eggplants, but it can be hard for me to cook them without drying them out. This recipe comes out perfect.

      I came to your blog after I was spending way too much money on delicious Sichuan food in restaurants so I decided to try to make my own. I have now made at least 7 different Sichuan recipes from your site and all of them have been delicious! So far every recipe I have tried has been easy and affordable as well. I especially like how you take the time to explain to westerners like me the particular ingredients and flavors that make Sichuan food unique.

      Thank you so much for so many great recipes! I look forward to trying many more!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        April 29, 2021 at 8:14 am

        Jessica,
        Thank you so much for this encouraging feedback. Really make me feel all the efforts are paying off. Happy cooking and enjoy your homemade Sichuan food.

        Reply
      • Nuno Pestana

        January 14, 2023 at 12:42 am

        Hi Jessica, i feel you. If you enjoy Sichuanese cuisine you have to buy the book “The food of Sichuan” by Fuchsia Dunlop. ENJOY!

        Reply
    3. catherine

      May 08, 2021 at 1:37 am

      where do you get the pickled pepper ?

      Reply
      • Elaine

        May 09, 2021 at 7:20 am

        We always get pickled peppers in our jars. But you can choose to buy from Asian stores or make your own with a quick method.

        Reply
    4. Robin

      August 18, 2021 at 12:08 am

      5 stars
      Hi
      I try today this recipe, very well explain and easy to do when you have all ingredients in your kitchen.
      Very tasty and a bit hot.
      Thanks..
      BR

      Reply
      • Elaine

        August 18, 2021 at 10:02 am

        Thanks Robin for your lovely feedback! Yes, a bit hot, it is a real dish from Sichuan.

        Reply
    5. Alan from Toulouse, France

      December 03, 2021 at 12:03 am

      5 stars
      Truly fantastic recipe! Have done this at least 10 times if not more often. I changed the way I prepare the Aubergines though. I did the whole cornflour/frying thing. A lot of work with all the presoaking! Then I started just grilling the aubergine slices on the BBQ. That worked OK too. Now I put the slices on baking paper drizzled with olive oil in a very hot oven (220 celsius) for 25 minutes. Whilst they're cooking I do the rest then it's just a quick assembly job in the wok. 30 mins from start to finsh 🙂 And the aubergines come out of the oven just great !! Thanks for the recipe!!!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        January 10, 2022 at 8:53 pm

        Nice idea!!! Alan. I never thought that this dish can be finished in oven. I must try it. That process seems so energy saving.

        Reply
    6. Kim

      January 16, 2022 at 5:54 am

      Magic sauce is right! My husband and I absolutely love this dish. Your site has gotten us through the pandemic -- we've made dozens of your recipes and I often come to look for ideas 🙂 Some of my other faves are the stir fried cabbage, spicy potato salad, egg and tomato stirfry, tomato egg drop soup. Thank you so much for all of this work! My family really appreciates it. Take good care!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        January 25, 2022 at 7:23 pm

        Thanks Kim for your support and feedback. Happy cooking!

        Reply
    7. chad

      January 19, 2022 at 9:58 am

      5 stars
      This is my favorite dish in restaurants, and I was eager to try it out myself. Your recipe was better than anything I have had in any restaurant! It might be helpful for those of us new to Chinese cooking to provide examples of the containers of some the containers (broad bean paste, pickled peppers, black vinegar) as it took me quite a while in the Asian supermarket to figure it out! Worth every second of work though! This was amazing!

      Reply
      • Elaine

        January 26, 2022 at 7:51 pm

        Thank you Chad. I am super proud of my Yu Xiang recipes too. I am so happy to read your feedback.

        Reply
    8. Rapha

      May 05, 2022 at 10:48 pm

      Hi Elaine,

      thank you for the recipe! it turned out very, very nice! (I used Korean Gochugaru instead of pickled peppers though because of availability..)

      One question: Can I also steam the eggplants instead of stirfrying them? Also, how soft shud they be in the end?
      (Yesterday I fried them as written in the recipe, but it got quite gluey because of the starch, and I'll have a hard time cleaning the pan...)

      Greetings from Berlin 🙂

      Reply
      • Elaine

        May 06, 2022 at 7:36 am

        Rapha,
        Steaming sounds like a lovely pan. But steamed eggplant don't tastes as good as pan fried version. I suggest slightly adding more oil to avoid sticky and then remove the oil out before frying the aromatics.

        Reply
        • Rapha

          May 12, 2022 at 4:53 am

          5 stars
          Alright! Thank you very much for the reply 🙂

          Reply
          • Elaine

            May 12, 2022 at 7:32 am

            My pleasure! Love to help.

            Reply
    9. LHODB

      May 22, 2022 at 3:04 pm

      5 stars
      it's delicious food.

      Reply
      • Elaine

        May 23, 2022 at 7:35 am

        Thanks!

        Reply
    10. Lisa

      February 25, 2023 at 11:51 pm

      So nice to find this recipe. I love Mrs Chiang’s recipe from her Szechwan cookbook -Eggplant in the Style of Fish. I will give your version a try!! Thx.

      Reply
      • Elaine

        March 09, 2023 at 8:08 am

        Happy cooking, Lisa. I hope you will like my version too.

        Reply
    « Older Comments

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    Primary Sidebar

    Hi Welcome

    Hi welcome to my little corner where I sharing authentic and easy to follow Chinese recipes. Don't be limited by the site name. Know me more from About Page.

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
    • YouTube

    Popular

    • Scallion Pancakes (Cong You Bing)
    • Mapo Tofu Recipe
    • How to Make Boba Pearls at Home -Tapioca Pearls
    • Twice Cooked Pork--Szechuan Pork Stir Fry
    • Red Braised Pork Belly —(HongShaoRou)
    • Pork and Mushroom Stir Fry

    Find Recipes

    Email List

    Subscribe Our Email list to get updates and recipes

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    • Privacy Policy. Disclaimer. About. Hot Pot cookbook

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Copyright © 2023 ChinaSichuanFood.com | All Rights Reserved