This dish is sharing a plate with Twice-Cooked Beef. These can be made together with a bit of juggling and getting all the ingredients prepped before cooking. Together, they’re so delicious! Or, serve it with other vegetables, as this is vegan on its own. You can find the recipe this was inspired from here.

14 oz Chinese eggplant
5-7 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2-inch piece of ginger, minced
3-4 dry red chilis
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp salt

Sauce:
1/2 tsp Szechuan peppercorn or black peppercorn
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp chili sauce or chili flakes
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tsp rice vinegar
1 tsp Chinese (Shaoxing) cooking wine (optional)
1/2 tsp black bean sauce
2 tsp corn starch
3-4 tbsp water

Garnish:
3-4 green onion stalks
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp red chili flakes (optional)

Slice the eggplant sliced diagonally into half-inch-thick pieces. Sprinkle with salt and set aside.

In a pan, roast the dry red chilis for 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a mortar and pestle and grind coarse. If you want people to have a little more control over individual spice level, leave these whole so they can be picked out. Set aside.

Add the sauce ingredients to a mixing bowl and set aside.

Put the eggplant slices in a mixing bowl and add the corn starch, stirring gently.

Heat oil in a wok or skillet on medium heat. Fry the eggplant until all sides are browned. Move to a kitchen towel.

In the same pan, add some more oil if required. Sauté the dry chilies, ginger, and garlic until the garlic starts to brown. Add the sauce mix. When it starts to boil, add the fried eggplant.

Stir gently and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Add green onions and turn off heat.

Sprinkle some toasted sesame seeds and serve hot over rice.