Di San Xian: Potato, Eggplant & Pepper Stir Fry (地三鲜) 

Hey guys, a few notes: 1. Apologies for not knowing the name of the exact type of eggplant we used. I went a little crazy trying to find the exact cultivar and such. Basically, just use anything that can stand up to a bit of deep-frying. 2. The sink is fixed, lol. On a whim, we uploaded a video a few days ago showing the new faucet... some of the comments were hilarious. We didn't want to have it cluttering the channel page/getting recommended to people because it *is* basically non-content, but we kept it unlisted. So you can see it here if you didn't happen to be on RU-vid: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2k_AE_b4y7A.html 3. Ok, so mea culpa time: entry #514 in the continuing saga of 'deep frying stuff outside is different than deep frying stuff inside'. See the eggplant in the stir-fry section of the video? Yeah... that was overcooked. The frying oil always loves to drop temperature outside on our balcony - I forgot (even though we literally went over this in the YouTiao video), and I was stupidly going by the color/browning of the eggplant to determine doneness. So yeah, that's what it looks like if you fry you eggplant for 45-60 seconds. The following day I whipped up another batch and cooked it properly (and inside), so that's what you're looking at in the intro/thumbnail. 4. For the rolling cut, know that there's no need to be quite so exact - this was just my best way to explain what's going on. When you slice it, it actually doesn't matter which direction you roll it... the little 'cut out wedge' could be facing the top, the bottom, the side... whatever. 5. Quick recommended adjustment for those in the West. While it much more common to add the ingredients *then* the slurry... honestly I think if you're working from cornstarch, it might be a better idea to thicken, *then* add in the vegetables and mix. The reason is that potato starch thickens about twice as fast as cornstarch, and with this dish if everything's in the liquid for too long it'll soften/overcook. Thickening first'll give you more control over the whole process. 6. If going that route, I'd recommend to thicken first by pouring the slurry into the sauce as a thin stream, stirring constantly (unfortunately this video wasn't the best visual of that as I was playing a bit too fast and loose... I'll see if I can find something). Then once everything's nice and thickened, toss in the potato and the garlic. Quick ~5 second mix, then toss in the peppers & eggplant, another quick mix, heat off. 7. Oh! Something I forgot in the video. At the end toss in a touch of oil or toasted sesame oil for some taste and sheen. That's it for now. I (Chris) will be back in the States for a bit over a week to visit family - we'll be back on the following week, where we play the fun game of 'can I actually film stuff with terrible jet lag?'

Delicious!! A bit random but I am Chinese but adopted by white British parents since the age of 2. In some small way I am trying to reconnect to Chinese and Asian culture, especially through cooking, which I love to do. Watching these videos and other wonderful cooking channels encourages me to try new ingredients and taste traditional recipes! Also, side note, I love that this one is already vegan so I don’t need to adapt the recipe 🧡

That's an excellent sink, I'm not sure if anyone here has commented about the quality of the sink and the faucet but oh my... what a sink. If you're thinking of changing the faucet you are crazy!

I brought this dish home from my stay in Beijing and it has since become my wife's favorite home-cooked dish - not just her favorite Chinese dish, her favorite overall. Personally, I use green onions instead of leeks, and I use so many that my dish should be called 地 四鲜! (disixian, the FOUR fresh things of the earth.)

I made this dish multiple times now and boiling the potatoes while steaming the eggplants is the current low fat/low maintenance approach I'm now using. The peppers are the only ingredients that really benefit from the fry, and they dont require much oil compared to the other 2 veggies. Highly recommend.

woohoo vegetarian recipe!

I've got all of these ingredients currently growing in my garden. Can't wait to harvest and do this recipe 😁

Nice veggie recipe - thanks for hooking us rabbitfood people up. :-)

This was my favorite dish back when I lived in China 😍 gonna try it out soon

Great video. As a native Chinese I’m really happy that someone finally made the tutorial of my favourite dish in English. Here’s some of my personal advices: 1. You probably shouldn’t stir that much while adding the starch water (勾芡). What we would do is to hold the pan or wok by hand and gently shake it till done. 2. It would be better if you add more raw minced garlics at the final step, yes, after 勾芡. This technique is called 头尾蒜 that means using garlic at both the start and the end of cooking, which really gives the unique smell and flavour of 地三鲜. Really like for content and please keep up

I learnt this dish when I was living in Beijing and I make it regularly because I grow all of the ingredients. One of my favourites.

This dish shows that vegetables from the same family are very good cooked together or, more precisely, accompany each other splendidly.

Hi, I made this last Friday. Let me start by saying holy F. WOW. So good. I guess that is really all I had to say. Uggghhhhh so good. Thanks for the amazing recipes.

Lovely! I love it when you make these home style dishes. Especially the vegetarian ones that you sometimes make ☺️ It’s fascinating because peppers and potatoes came to us all in the old world just a few centuries ago. Yet, even here in India, it’s inconceivable that green chillies and red chilli powder were not used by folks, say, in the 1600s. Btw, do fix the wobbling table too...one is at the edge of one’s seat when the knife is descending and the board does a tiny teeter. Uff! 😅

Yeah! This is one of my favourite dishes so I'm so excited you're covering it.

I just made this for my parents here in Austria, and they absolutely loved it. Thank you so much for all of your amazing recipes. I am slowly but surely cooking my way through them. I think the next one will be Jing Jiang Rou Si. It looks so delicous.

I love it when my grandma cooks it. Thanks for sharing the recipe

Okay, I just made this and it’s delicious! You don’t even miss meat. Thank you for sharing another great recipe. Julie 😊

You two are crushing it. Keep at it!

Great recipe, I wanted to share my experience (and where I screwed up!): The eggplant definitely cooked much faster than I expected. I ended up getting basic Chinese eggplant since Italian eggplant seems to take forever to cook. The 90 degree / 45 degree rolling cut is amazing, it really helps to create even sizes for cooking, totally changed up my game. The peppers / chilis were also cooked in about 30 seconds (I'm slowly learning to cook everything for less time). I was shocked at how perfectly the extra garlic added at the end adds in SUCH a garlic kick, amazing. If I've learned anything from you two, it's that proportions-and-timing often mean more than anything. I learned a ton from this experience, thanks so much.

Perfect timing again! Gonna make this tonight! I'm thinking about boiling the potatoes and the aubergine (different timings of course!) then giving them a fry to crisp up the surface. Should probably save some oil compared to the deep fry since I don't have a round bottom wok.

So excellent! Turned out so well even first time and inexperienced at deep frying! I always look out for your vegan friendly dishes

This looks delicious and I have everything to make it! I have enjoyed your channel so much. I cook for my father who has a very low tolerance for the heat that chilies provide so this is perfect. Thank you! Julie 😊

My favourite Chinese dish from when we lived in China. Rare to find it in English Chinese places!

Thanks for doing video a "real" Chinese food. There's just a lot of American-Chinese out there, which can be good. But I prefer the authentic stuff.

After spending quite some time in the Northeast, the version I came across that I enjoyed the most was pretty much the exact same as what you have done, except you don't add anywhere near as much water, just enough to cover the bottom of the wok and steam the veggies through with it. Just as the water is about to evaporate with I'd say 3 tablespoons worth left in the wok you add the slurry then add a generous dusting of Northeastern fresh 5 spice (NOTHING like the stuff we get in the West) and that is amazing. Because I am a lover of Sichuan/Hunan cuisine as well as the Northeast/Xinjiang cuisine.... the version I personally prepare myself is deep fry white sweet potato, then shallow fry hot version of the green peppers (light pale green skin, not the darker). I keep those to the side and I will braise the aubergine/eggplant in the sauce until soft (no fry) Let the sauce reduce and add the potatoes in then add peppers in at last minute. The big change I do is the sauce, I will put a teaspoon of yellow bean sauce and a teaspoon of chilli bean sauce with a dash of dark soy sauce and light, I will also add cinnamon bark, star anise, and Sichuan green peppercorns in the sauce and after the reduction add the slurry, more garlic. The fusion of hot and spicy with cold hearty cooking lol Dongbei Mala Tang is to die for by the way!!!! As well as their BBQ! Maybe do the Dongbei mash potatoes and mince (Shenyang) dish for the viewers? I am sure many will like that :)

Yaaaaas I eat 地三鲜 since I was a child ,one of my favorite dishes from my hometown

This dish, using my favourite ingredients, looks delicious, I'm definitely going to make this one soon. Thank you for sharing.

I made this twice in the last couple weeks, and it really reminds me of living in Shenyang!

This dish makes regular appearances at my Buddhist temple’s Sunday vegetarian plate lunch! Soooooo yummy!

Just made the recipe and is just awesome tasty fast and easy

Love the new sink faucet..

wow, very clear and concise, good work!

Thanks for all the awesome recipes!!!

I ate this dish everyday during my stay in Beijing, now I will start to making it at home, thank you

This is my fav dish to order at Chinese restaurants with Veg friends. I'll have to try it.

Thanks for the recipe. I made this for dinner tonight. Delicious. I was surprised how tender the potatoes came out the deep fry.

Woo! have an excellant trip to the States! I'd think it'd be really fun to do a few Vlog videos, of you both visiting some generic chinese restaurants in the states, and getting a few of the big dishes like general tso's, brocoli beef, orange chicken, wonton soup. and just...I dunno do like a five minute segment discussing what you think of them, how they differ from authentic, or whether they're complete fabrications, or such. I'd enjoy something like that. But not if it would ruin your vacation. you guys have fun!

Awesome video! Could you possibly demystify some HotPot styles & corresponding spices/sauce around china? Thank you kindly in advance!

الله يعطيك الصحة 🌹👍🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌺🌹🌺🌹🌺🌹🌺🌹🌺🌺🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🥀🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳🌳

thank you so much!!! this is one of my favorite channels. a request for any other home cooking dishes, as well as a fried tofu with a rich sesame sauce plz.

Just finished eating it.... superb! Thanks for the great recipe, took me back to our trip to Beijing for sure!!

this dish sounds amazing

Just made this! Easy and delicious. I didn’t have a wok so I just used what pans we had and it was doable.

Happy to see the sink working like new.

I am addicted to this channel now

A great recipe! By the way 🤔 Why do we never see Chris’ face on camera? 😯 🥴

Looks delicious. Great video

Looks amazing

OMG this Heilongjiang-er never clicked on a link faster

An air fryer makes easy work of this dish, pop your potatoes in at 400 for 12 minutes, tossed in oil and they will be perfectly cooked through and golden A ripping hot cast iron skillet took care of the peppers and eggplants beautifully Next time i may substitute the dark soy sauce for light. The aroma of dark soy sauce is always very prominent to me whenever i use it, but thats just personal preference For those in the US, cubanelle peppers are awesome for this!

Thanks guys😊😊😊😊

Wish I wasn't allergic to garlic, this looks freaking amazing :) I'll just leave it out, but I bet the flavor isn't complete without it.

I have a question about the Eggplant, my Mum always taught me to soak and squeeze them is this a good idea for this dish? or is that just for other Eggplant stir fries? Thanks

My mom always did this with leftover roasted potatoes she reheated in the wok - no deep frying in HER house!

I think my husband would like this.

Never even heard of this but it looks great.

Would you guys be able to do a video on rice and the best way to cook it?

wok's are much better in deep frying than my small deep-frying pan that always looks like an accident waiting to happen

I looove this kind of homecooking, will definitely try this recipe!

I'm gonna make this!!! Reminds me of dish from a small Michigan chain called No Thai! I believe they call it simply "potato curry".

I am going to cook this as soon as I can! Add a little multicultural touch with adding vinegar and Bagoong. Yummy and simple!

DONGBEI! Great dish!

my favorite with rice.

I love this one. I have only recently made it. Any advice on what to serve it with? In terms of North Chinese cooking, do you have a recipe for wotou corn bread?

Thanks guys👍🏿

Damn that looks so good.

Thanks so much for this one. Going to make it a couple more times to nail it down but I really liked the first result despite many mistakes on my end. I'm curious about how deep frying figures into the average home kitchen in China. The technique is certainly put to many more creative and different uses than American cuisine has ever managed. I love deep frying at home, but I know this is quite rare in the US and other European countries. Is there a tendency in China, or certain parts of China, to be more open to it as a casual, weekday home cooking technique? I know that woks facilitate deep frying a lot better than western-style cookware, so that's already a head start in making it easier, but it is still a pretty involved thing, and then there's the matter of using cups on cups of oil for a meal, which can get a little expensive. Which makes me wonder- is your household, like mine, always stocked with a big jug of used-but-clean DF oil?

for health reasons imma pansy out and just do a light coat of caiziyou on the potato, eggplant, and pepper chunks in a cast iron skillet and bake in the oven at 375 F for 40 min

I’m using that cutting method now.

i don't know if u take requests, bud i'd love to see a recipe with pork feets! keep up the good work!

1:10 we were taught to do something similar with carrots in school. cant remember the french name for it

I love your videos! Have you heard of -chiba tofu - ? This would be a great recipe!

3 Fresh Things from the earth huh? i wonder if i can do a Pumpkin one? it IS October now.

I just made it 😁😁😁

I loved this dish while I lived in China, and it's cool to know i remembered the cooking method correctly. I love the eggplant to have some skin for color. 这个味道很棒！

My potatoes never seem to really suck in the flavour like they do at a restaurant meal, do you have any suggestions to help the flavour sink in?

I've been meaning to ask for a while. Is there a difference between putting the liaojiu and soy sauce over the spatula as opposed to just putting them right in the wok?

Wow, Doctor of Egg Plants?

How about a Dong Po Rou next or Buddha's Delight? :D

What do you do with excess oil after deep frying? If you re-use it I'ld appreciate to learn about how to do it properly.

Why every time when I add starch and water mix, it turns into jelly immediately and does not mix with the rest of the ingridients?

Aka. 茄科三杰 the Great Three of Solanaceae (the Nightshade Family) in the lore of nerdy Chinese biologists...

he should open a Chinese restaurant in the states

Im gonna add broccoli in mine

Hmmm, what about using shallots instead of leek? I would hate to buy leeks and only use a tiny bit of it.

According to my experience the pepper need to be cooked thoroughly before the final mix-stirring.

The skin shouldn't be removed from the eggplant. I live in the northeast and they never do that.

any reason why these 3 "fresh" ingredients was used. any would do right?

Yumm! Can you invite me for a dinner?

😍

In the NorthEast, the slice everything thinner most of the time.

is my eggplant supposed to be crunchy on the inside haha. did not cook enough

牛逼！

Very Nice but too much deep frying.

Are you saying it's normal for people in China to traditionally have an oil thermometer? Because where I am from only exceptional cooking enthusiasts got one. And people making youtube videos.

i really really hate eggplants(i will vomit if i had one), i wonder what can substitute it. maybe some kinda mushroom ?

我感觉茄子不用去皮啊。。。

Waiting for “Chinese cooking demystified” to upload demystified.

Would you please research fukienese fish noodles.