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Chinese Yu Xiang Eggplant Recipe

September 13, 2014 31 Comments

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Chinese eggplant recipe–Szechuan eggplants(Yu Xiang Eggplant) is often listed as Chinese eggplant in hot garlic sauce.

Szechuan eggplants--Yu Xiang Eggplants

One of the representatives of Sichuan cuisine is Sichuan eggplant, or  Yu Xiang Qie Zi(鱼香茄子in Chinese). “鱼香” actually means Fish-Fragrant, is a kind of flavor which is quite famous in Sichuan dishes. Besides Sichuan eggplant, there is the famous Yu Xiang Rou Si(鱼香肉丝 or fish-fragrant shredded pork). Some menu may refer this dish to Eggplants in Chinese hot garlic sauce.

This unique  fish fragrant sauce is made with pickled red pepper, garlic, ginger, scallions, salt, soy sauce and vinegar. It is firstly used to cook fishes. So this dish has nothing to do with fish meat. The best pepper used should be Sichuan pickled red pepper. I have written a recipe about how to make it at home, if you are interested about this, please check pickled vegetables. Or if the pickled red pepper is really hard to find, you can replace it with Thai red pepper. Although Sichuan peppercorn is commonly used in many Sichuan dishes, we do not need it for the fish fragrant series. I see many versions call for Sichuan peppercorn in this recipe. However, you may develop your own recipe and just enjoy the process of cooking.

In restaurants, eggplants are usually deep-fried firstly before stir fry with seasonings. However homemade version usually use pan-frying. In order to reduce the oil absorbed during the pan-frying process and fasten the process, we should soak the eggplant strips in salty water for around 15 minutes.  

Szechuan eggplants--Yu Xiang Eggplants

Szechuan eggplants--Yu Xiang Eggplants

5 from 2 votes
Szechuan eggplants--Yu Xiang Eggplants
Print
Yu Xiang Qie Zi (Sichuan Eggplant)
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
15 mins
Total Time
20 mins
 
Sichuan style eggplants stir fry
Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: Sichuan cuisine
Keyword: Eggplant
Servings: 2
Calories: 204 kcal
Author: Elaine
Ingredients
  • 2 Asian long eggplants
  • 3 pickled red pepper , or replace with fresh Thai red peppers, finely chopped
  • 1 tbsp. broad bean paste , Doubanjiang
  • 2 garlic cloves , chopped
  • 1 tbsp. chopped ginger
  • 2 green onions , white part and green part separately chopped
  • coriander for decoration
  • 2 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
  • 1 tsp. salt for soaking
Stir fry sauce
  • 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. black vinegar
  • 1 tbsp. cooking wine
  • 2 tsp. cornstarch
  • 1 tsp. sugar
  • 1 tbsp. water
  • Salt as needed
Instructions
  1. 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.
  2. Prepare a bowl; mix all the ingredients for stir fry sauce. Then set aside.
  3. Heat up 2 tablespoons of oil in wok (comparing with other ingredients, eggplants need more oil) until you can see the waves.
  4. Add eggplants in and stir-fry until soft. Firstly the eggplants will absorb almost all the oils in the wok and then return some back after 2 or 3 minutes.
  5. Move the eggplants out or to one side of the wok; add garlic, chopped peppers, green onion white part and ginger to stir-fry for the aroma. Add doubanjiang to continue cooking for 1 minute for red oil. Then mix all the content in wok.
  6. Stir in the sauce. Mix well and make sure the eggplants are well coated.
  7. Move from wok, sprinkle chopped green onion and coriander leaves.
Recipe Notes

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

Nutrition Facts
Yu Xiang Qie Zi (Sichuan Eggplant)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 204 Calories from Fat 135
% Daily Value*
Total Fat 15g 23%
Saturated Fat 12g 60%
Sodium 1374mg 57%
Potassium 246mg 7%
Total Carbohydrates 15g 5%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 6g
Protein 2g 4%
Vitamin A 2.4%
Vitamin C 18.1%
Calcium 1.6%
Iron 1.9%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Szechuan eggplants--Yu Xiang Eggplants

Filed Under: Featured, Recipes, Stir fry, Vegan

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  1. Christine says

    September 27, 2014 at 2:07 am

    Stunning as usual. I love every way the Chinese make eggplants. I have a request…there is a cold eggplant salad we sometimes eat at school, in a restaurant we love, and in some very small restaurants (the really cheap ones that have no doors…just some tables). It is often served with sliced eggplant (cold) at the bottom of a dish and some sort of salty red sauce on top. In the restaurant we love it is served with a pestle (a stick) and we can beat it together. It is usually very spicy. Do you perhaps know this salad? If you do…do you know how to make it? Thanks for your help!

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      September 27, 2014 at 7:59 am

      Hi Christine,
      We call that recipe as leibo eggplants usually with a server similar to a garlic processor. It is not difficult. I will post the recipe soon.

      Reply
  2. Tracie says

    December 13, 2014 at 11:30 pm

    I just tried this and it was really good! I added ground pork which I marinated beforehand in salt, pepper, and cornstarch. Thanks for the recipe!

    Reply
    • Elaine Luo says

      December 15, 2014 at 1:16 am

      Hi Tracie,
      Thanks for your lovely feedback. I am so happy to find it works great for you too. Adding some ground pork is a nice choice.

      Reply
  3. thai food says

    April 2, 2015 at 10:43 pm

    thanks for your good recipes

    Reply
  4. Frau Scheil says

    July 1, 2015 at 4:56 am

    Hi Elaine,
    Good job on this one. Really helpful especially the bean paste ingredient which on most sites I checked wasn’t mentioned. Your post solved my problem on how to make this recipe reddish in color (thanks to the magic ingredient- bean paste) .

    My husband and I love this pickled mushroom salad (cold dish) served in a Sichuan restaurant we frequent. Mushroom is black in color and looks flowery. Tastes sour and very spicy, garnished with chopped coriander. I’d appreciate if you can share a recipe on this.

    Xie Xie in advance.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      July 1, 2015 at 7:29 pm

      Hi Frau,

      Thanks for contacting. Is it wood ear mushroom salad? Similar to this one https://chinasichuanfood.com/marinade-wood-ear-mushrooms/?

      Reply
  5. claire says

    October 29, 2015 at 9:33 pm

    Made this for dinner. It was as good as any eggplant I’ve had at a Chinese restaurant!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      October 30, 2015 at 9:37 pm

      Thanks Claire!! Glad to know it works out fine for you too. Happy cooking!

      Reply
  6. Michele says

    June 12, 2016 at 3:52 pm

    Thanks each time i do this recipe the appearence is different And taste as Well.but il is always mouth cutting (my on Way of saying too good ). And each time i went to china my colleagues do not ask me what i want. They Just bring me to any restaurant serving eggplant amongst other. Thanks again for helping me doing it at home.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      June 15, 2016 at 9:19 pm

      Hi Michele,

      Mouth cutting is such a lovely description. We have similar words like rice killer. Eggplant is really great with Chinese style cooking.

      Reply
  7. Kyrie says

    March 26, 2017 at 5:53 am

    Just made this. Was excellent!

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      March 26, 2017 at 8:19 am

      Thanks for your lovely feedback Kyrie! So glad to hear that.

      Reply
  8. Tanuja says

    July 3, 2017 at 9:07 pm

    Hi Elaine you’re a life saver.All my favorite food from china is here.I lived in china for 6 years and I loved every bit of it and the food my gosh..It’s heaven.I was searching for some authentic food channel on YouTube but really not much of help then I found your blog.Thank you very much Dear.
    God bless.Take care.

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      July 4, 2017 at 9:32 am

      Thanks you!!

      Reply
  9. beejay says

    July 27, 2017 at 3:16 pm

    This is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. Unfortunately, most restaurants here in the U.S. dip the eggplant in batter and deep fry it. The coating gets soggy and the whole dish is ruined. It’s been quite a while since I’ve made it at home, but seeing your recipe has inspired me to do so again. Thanks!

    Reply
  10. Jen says

    September 3, 2017 at 9:59 am

    Made this tonight, trying to reproduce my favorite “fish flavored eggplant”. And this very good and delicious, but not quite enough spicy! Next time I’ll add red chili oil. Excellent recipe. I’m in love with your site. Thank you.

    Reply
  11. petit says

    November 28, 2017 at 5:12 am

    J’ ai mangé dans un petit restaurant très typique à Xing Ping du “gi xiang gié zj” traduit par notre guide en “aubergines parfumés.” Elle m’a expliqué qu’il fallait passer les aubergines en mandoline pour faire une sorte de spiral, rouler l’aubergine dans une sorte de pâte sablé (beignets?) avec des épices.
    Est-ce que vous connaissez cette superbe recette?

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      December 3, 2017 at 9:28 am

      Sorry I cannot provide only further information concerning about the dish you mentioned here. Can you drop me a picture?

      Reply
  12. Melané Fahner-Botha says

    January 17, 2019 at 11:25 pm


    If I cannot buy doubanjiang, do you have a recipe please?

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      January 22, 2019 at 7:40 pm

      I do. You can check the post introducing how to make doubanjiang at home. But it is not the right season now.

      Reply
  13. Andreas says

    April 27, 2019 at 7:34 am


    Hi Elaine,

    It’s quire rare that I find the long purple eggplants somewhere. Most of the times I only get the plump black ones. So I was very happy that when I got them this dish turned out very good. That’s the second “Yu Xiang” recipe I tried out and I really like the taste.

    Thank’s a lot.

    Reply
  14. Luuk says

    May 21, 2019 at 2:06 am

    Dear elaine,

    What kind of vegetable oil should I use? Many options, sunflower, olive, penute, rice…
    Kind regards,
    Luuk

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      May 21, 2019 at 7:52 am

      Luuk,
      Basically I think sunflower and olive are good options. But any type of vegetable cooking oil works fine.

      Reply
  15. Denny Li says

    August 14, 2019 at 7:46 am

    So good! I love this dish but many of the restaurants in the US make it too sweet and not spicy enough. I shouldn’t have waited so long to cook it.

    Also, Elaine, please consider allowing photo uploads. I took a picture of the eggplant I cooked with your recipe and wanted to share it.

    Reply
  16. Alan says

    August 21, 2019 at 11:15 am

    Hi Elaine,
    I’ve made this recipe before and it was superb. However, I just moved and cannot get long Asian eggplants at my local grocery store. Will large fat eggplants work?

    Reply
    • Elaine says

      August 21, 2019 at 7:56 pm

      Tender ones can work fine too.

      Reply
  17. Michelle Lajzerowicz says

    November 14, 2019 at 10:04 am

    Another winner Elaine!
    I love how you make Sichuan cooking so uncomplicated!
    (at least some of it!)

    Reply

Trackbacks

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