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AI-generated photograph: Soft fingers of purple skinned aubergine glazed in a glossy red brown sauce, piled in a shallow cast iron dish, flecks of garlic and ginger through the sauce, bright green spring onion scattered on top, seen from a low side angle

Home · Recipes · Yúxiāng qiézi, fish-fragrant aubergine

Sichuan · Dinner

Yúxiāng qiézi, fish-fragrant aubergine

silky aubergine · chilli bean sauce · sweet and sour

AI-generated photograph

Yúxiāng qiézi is soft, silky aubergine in a glossy sauce of chilli bean paste, garlic, ginger, sugar and vinegar. Yúxiāng means fish-fragrant, the Sichuan name for this sweet and sour flavour once used for cooking fish, but there is no fish in it at all.

Contains: soya and cereals containing gluten, as written. Soya is in the light soy sauce and often in the chilli bean paste. Gluten is in the soy sauce (made with wheat), in most Pixian chilli bean pastes (they contain wheat flour) and in Chinkiang vinegar (usually brewed with wheat bran). Some Chinese vinegars contain sulphites, so check the label if that matters to you.

Ingredients

  • 3 medium aubergines (about 800g)
  • 1 teaspoon fine salt
  • 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 2 tablespoons Pixian chilli bean paste (Píxiàn dòubànjiàng, a fermented broad bean and chilli paste)
  • 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • 1 thumb-sized piece fresh ginger (about 30g), finely chopped
  • 4 spring onions, whites and greens sliced and kept apart
  • 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Chinkiang black vinegar (zhènjiāng cù, a dark, mellow Chinese vinegar)
  • 2 teaspoons cornflour

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Let's cook

  1. Cut the aubergines into fingers about 2cm thick and 7cm long. Toss them with the salt in a colander and leave for 15 minutes, then pat them dry with kitchen paper. Salting draws out water so they soak up less oil.
  2. Heat 4 tablespoons of the oil in a wok or large frying pan on a medium high heat. Fry the aubergine in two batches for 6 to 8 minutes, turning, until golden on the outside and completely soft inside when pressed. Lift onto a plate.
  3. Turn the heat to medium and add the last 2 tablespoons of oil. Add the chilli bean paste and stir for 1 minute until the oil turns red and smells rich. Do not let it burn.
  4. Add the garlic, ginger and spring onion whites and stir for 30 seconds until fragrant.
  5. Pour in 200ml water from the kettle, then add the soy sauce and sugar. Bring to a simmer, return the aubergine to the pan and turn it gently in the sauce for 2 to 3 minutes so it soaks up the flavour.
  6. Mix the cornflour with 2 tablespoons of cold water. Stir it into the pan and simmer for 30 seconds until the sauce turns glossy and clings to the aubergine.
  7. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the vinegar. Taste: it should be sweet, sour, salty and gently hot in equal measure. Scatter with the spring onion greens and serve with rice.

Tips

  • Less oil: toss the salted, dried aubergine with 2 tablespoons of oil and roast at 220C (200C fan) for 25 minutes, turning once, then add it to the sauce.
  • Keep leftovers covered in the fridge for up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot. The flavour deepens overnight.

Swaps

  • Hotter: add 1 tablespoon of chopped Sichuan pickled chillies (pào làjiāo) with the chilli bean paste, as Chengdu cooks do.
  • Gluten free: use a chilli bean paste and a tamari labelled gluten free, and swap the black vinegar for rice vinegar.

Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

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