Fish-Fragrant Aubergine (Yuxiang Qiezi)
Inspired by techniques from Serious Eats.
Salted aubergine batons deep-fried until buttery, then braised briefly in a red, glossy sauce of chilli bean paste, garlic, ginger, stock, sugar and soy, thickened lightly and finished with black vinegar and spring onion.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Salt the aubergine. Toss the aubergine batons with the salt and leave for 30 min to draw out moisture. Rinse, drain and pat thoroughly dry. Mix the potato starch with the cold water in a small bowl.
- 2
Fry. Heat the oil in the wok to 200 °C. Fry the aubergine in 2-3 batches for about 3 min each, until soft and lightly golden, and drain on paper.
- 3
Build the sauce. Pour off all but 3 tbsp of the oil. Over medium heat, stir-fry the chilli bean paste until the oil turns red and fragrant, taking care not to scorch it, then add the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Add the stock, sugar and soy sauce and bring to the boil.
- 4
Braise and finish. Slide in the aubergine and simmer for about 1 min, nudging the batons gently so they stay whole. Stir the starch mixture and add it in 2-3 additions, just until the sauce turns glossy and coats the aubergine. Stir in the vinegar and spring onion greens and serve.
Storage
Refrigerate up to 2 days. Reheat gently until piping hot (74 °C) or serve at room temperature. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Low saturated fat: 1 g saturated fat per 100 g, 5% of energy (limits ≤ 1.5 g and ≤ 10%)
- Source of fibre: 2.8 g fibre per 100 kcal (needs ≥ 1.5 g)
Per 100 g of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 102 g a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Free sugars
4.2 g per serving
8.4 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 16.8 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- large bowl
- colander
- wok
- cooking thermometer
- slotted spoon
- tray lined with kitchen paper
- small bowl
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 180 kcal |
| Protein | 2.8 g |
| Carbohydrate | 17.5 g |
| of which sugars | 10.4 g |
| of which free sugars | 4.2 g |
| Fat | 12 g |
| of which saturates | 1 g |
| Fibre | 5.1 g |
| Salt | 1.42 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
1.6 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
