Crisp eggplant with fish-fragrant sauce recipe by Dan Hong (2024)

FAQs

What is Chinese fragrant sauce? ›

It is called yuxiang in Chinese, which literally means “fish aroma,” because the traditional recipe calls for chiles that were fermented with crucian carp, which gave it a deep anchovy flavor, much like the Vietnamese fish sauce called nuoc mam.

Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.

Not necessarily; it depends on what you're looking for in the finished dish. Though salting works when you want the eggplant to be creamy and tender — such as with parmigiana — in those cases where you want the eggplant to retain its shape and have a slightly firmer texture — such as ratatouille — you can skip it.

Despite its name, there's no fish in the recipe. Instead, it's a nod to the fact that the sauce boasts a combination of sweet, savory, spicy and sour that's delicious with seafood. Yuxiang Eggplant (yùh hēung 魚香 ké jí 茄子) literally translates to Fish Fragrant Eggplant.

Fish fragrant flavor, also known as yuxiang wei, imbues the flavors used in classic fish dishes, especially pickled red chilis, ginger, garlic, and scallions. The combination of flavors is much more common than the name.

Lu sauce is the 'secret sauce" of Chinese cuisine : Goats and Soda It's called Lu sauce. It dates back 1,500 years (at least) and for chef Peter in Beijing, it's new as the brew of soy sauce, ginger, garlic he cooks up each night — with a special touch from his mom.

Brining adds flavor and texture to eggplants. "Mix spices and salt with water, then soak sliced eggplant in the brine for 30 minutes before cooking.

Start by salting the eggplant slices and letting them rest before cooking. The salt draws some of the interior moisture to the surface of the eggplant. A thorough pat with paper towels before breading the eggplant is essential to getting rid of that moisture and preventing soggy slices.

Next, soak the eggplant in ice-cold water: The chill shocks the surface of the vegetable and fills tiny air pockets between the cells, preventing the oil from entering them.

Eggplants are known to absorb a lot of fat while cooking. A useful tip to prevent sogginess and greasiness is to salt sliced or diced eggplant and let it sit for an hour. This helps to draw out moisture. Next, rinse and drain any liquid from the sliced eggplant, then pat dry before cooking.