Hot & Sour Chinese Eggplant

Chinese eggplant is a fun vegetable. As I mentioned in a previous purple-hued post, they are less bitter than the American eggplant, have a lighter color and thinner skin, and also don't remind me of all those awful eggplant parmesan dishes I've had over the years. It's like there is no other way to cook an eggplant!

Thankfully Allrecipes has a fix for that. This hot and sour sauce for Chinese eggplant is delicious. I made it for my parents and served it alongside steak and brown rice. They loved it. The only changes I made to the original recipe were the omission of the chile (not on purpose, it was an oversight), using red chili paste instead of chili oil and the pomace for the vegetable oil, of course.

You also don't need to soak the vegetable for a full 30 minutes. 10 minutes and you'll be fine.

Mmm.

Hot & Sour Chinese Eggplant
2 long Chinese eggplants, cubed
1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon white sugar
1 green chile pepper, chopped (optional)
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon chili oil or paste, or to taste
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons pomace oil

1. Place the eggplant cubes into a large bowl, and sprinkle with salt. Fill with enough water to cover, and let stand for 10 minutes. Rinse well, and drain on paper towels.

2. In a small bowl, stir together the soy sauce, red wine vinegar, sugar, chile pepper (if using), cornstarch and chili oil/paste. Set the sauce aside.

3. Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant until it is tender and begins to brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Pour in the sauce, and cook and stir until the sauce is thick and the eggplant is evenly coated. Serve immediately.

Yields approximately 4 servings.