I make this dish (with the pork mince) all the time but I just sear the aubergine in a dry (no oil, no seasoning) wok until browned and then set it aside. Finally after all the ingredients and aubergine are combined like in the video (plus a handful of dried chilli peppers in the beginning), I just let it sizzle and simmer a bit longer to cook the aubergine through and let it develop the flavours. There's enough oil and seasoning in the sauce already so there's no need to deep fry when doing this at home. Deep frying is just a fast way to cook a lot of it at one time if you're running a restaurant (my family and extended family are all in the restaurant business).
I usually do that, believe it or not, I brown on a non-stick crepe pan with a little sesame oil on it. I also use Schezuan pepper corns toasted in mine because I love a ma la effect.
Dude, your production and explanation of Chinese recipes is the best in RU-vid. The way you present the recipes and film the cooking is amazing. Please keep up the good work with the Chinese recipes!
I just discovered ur channel. I'm following many cookin channels with millions followers & believe me u r not less professional than'em. All u need is a little of publicity with a bunch of luck. gd luck dude.
I agree. Between Andong and French Guy, cooking channels have been doing it wrong. I think they have nailed a very professional but raw style of cooking show.
I just tried this yesterday night with my friends. One without the pork mince, one with. Absolutely delicious. Thank you so much. Reminds me of the food I had when I was working in Shenzhen.
Discovering your Chanel today is a real highlight for me today. With all the knowledge, passion and perseverance, I bet you will soon have 1 million subscriber ! Way to go Andong!
I am a Parisian Expat in Southern California and I miss good food oh so much! You help fill some of the voids I feel foodwise and you remind me of my Lithuanian family :)
My parents come from the northeast Heilongjiang province of China, where eggplant is quite prominent in our cuisine. We primarily prepare the eggplant in two ways: frying and steaming, which serve different purposes in different dishes, and they are both super tasty. So naturally, I'm not surprised that the steamed version is very good, but I'm highly impressed by how authentic your preparation is and for doing the eggplant justice!
There it is. The recipe that convinced me to sign up for patreon. This recipe saved my tastebuds. Mom grows too many eggplants every year and I just can't eat anymore eggplant parm man. Thank you so much for this awesomeness :) keep going man!
I think when cooking chinese cuisine, as knowing some basic rules, you needn't stick to a single best technic. A well variety of ways to cook can bring a lot of fun to eat.
Yes! In Ferrandi cookbook ( best gastronomy school in France, world class chefs advices) they validate this technique for eggplant cook : Half steamed to make it soft, then fry it to finish it :) Loved this vid !
YOOOO! I’ve had this (somewhere) on my “I should really try this” list for SIX YEARS now, and I finally finally did it just tonight… and like, yeahhhh, heck yeah, dude!! Technique 100% delivers as promised. ANDONG STAY WINNING ✌️
I recently rekindled my love for eggplants! This is a dish that I think I’m going to love. Thank you and keep sharing these great videos. I found a terrific chili sauce that’s sweet and spicy that will compliment this dish.
Aloha Andong. Szechuan Eggplant is my very favorite Chinese dish and I make it a lot. This morning, because my neighbor gave me a bunch of eggplant and because I watched this video last night, I made your recipe using the 'steaming methodology". In the 40+ years that this dish has been my favorite, and for all the years I've been making this, I can tell you that today's creation was like no other in the past and far better than any that I've had in a Chinese restaurant. It was beautiful. The 2 of us finished it all....oink oink....that was 6 6" + - eggplants. Happy opu (tummy). Thank you.
I used to buy this amazing crispy eggplant at Fu Jin in Portland. They closed 10 years ago and I've been trying to get it right since. I had also tried the steaming method and it's the best! This recipe alone got me to subscribe.
This dude is damn good at cooking Chinese food omg he needs someone to make the Chinese subtitles for him. (Okay I might do it after I finish my finals ;D)
In China, that is bawang eggplant(or "King eggplant" literally) dish, the eggplant is cut in big chunks, fried in the way you said and usually covered with Chinese sugar and vinegar sauce (Light tamota sauce is also fine)
Hey man, I started out watching the dishes from around the world, but now I am TUMBLING DOWN the rabbit hole of Chinese dishes. I love your style and even though some ingredients are terribly hard to find here in the Ukraine (and are pretty damn expensive), it is all worth it if I can share a virtual meal with my favorite youtuber! :-)
Love your channel, great job man! What I do is clean the aubergines, put them in the microwave for 3 to 4 minutes, let them cool down, chop them the way I need them and then fry them. What happens is that once an aubergine is cooked, either in the microwave of steaming them whole, they do not absorb oil when they are fried! This is what I do when I make parmigiana di melanzane (an Italian dish that is like a lasagna that uses slices of aubergine instead of pasta), you get an almost oil-free dish!
Love your channel! I just discover it and have been binge watching them. I wish I can watch them all at the same time because I am having difficulties to choose what to watch next, as everything looks so interesting!
Hi! I studied in China for 2 years and im not a vegie fan. But then, i tried this kind of 茄子，肉末茄子. Almost similar to your eggplant. And i fell in love, it didnt taste like vegie at all. The eggplant were so smooth, flavorful and juicy. Watching your videos make me want to try to cook eggplant. BTW i chalenge you to make 冬瓜茶. i’ve been searching on youtube but noone make the video as clear as you do, i mean, step by step and some tips on the making process. BtW I love your videos, keep on the good work!
I just made it. After living few years in China was missing it. Had to do too many substitutions but... it turned out excellent! Not the exact same profile, but still delicious!
There is a third way. A mix of panfrying and steaming. I can't really explain why it works, but it works. I only ever done this with a non stick pan. You need a lid for the pan and then you fry the eggplants with a little bit of oil (probably like your oven ones) with a lid on over medium-high//high. If everything goes according to plan the eggplant will be darkbrown to black on the outside and super mushy on the inside. Obviously somewhere in between you need to flip. But the key is: If you looking it ain't cooking. The lid needs to be on the pan. You gotta trust the process. I assume the eggplant is steaming in it's own water, but as I said, I can't really explain why it works. The result is not like the deepfried since the deepfried eggplant has a bit more of a mellow flavor, this one is maybe somewhere between grilled and deepfried? Let me know what you think, if you have a chance to try it out.
Thanks, you just ruined it. The point of the deep-frying is to preserve the bright purple color of the eggplant's skin, and on a Chinese eggplant (as opposed to the Italian one used here) it is even more sensitive to oxidation, which happens when you overcook it in the presence of water - whether internal or external. The initial salting of the eggplant is a crucial step to avoiding this, as is using proper steaming equipment that doesn't allow for moisture to fall back onto the eggplant.
that's how my mother prepared aubergine or eggplant ( it doesn't look like egg in anyway), put them in the rice cooker when the rice is about cooked, take it out, and cook it like the way you do, tasted awesome every time.
Well done.As a great home cook originally from Sichuan, I have to tell you the essential ingredients for Yu Xiang source are Sichuan style pickled chill and ginger.I would not even
Recently discovered your channel. Speaking 3 languages. Likable on-video personality. Good instruction and informational content. You should have more viewers!
hey awesome videos! I usually stream it first and then deep fry it, so the eggplant is already moist inside and doesn't suck in more oil. I have a question regarding the mobile gas stove you use. Does it have enough power for chinese cooking? Where did you get it in Germany. I live in Germany but I have difficulty to find a proper gas stove for Chinese cooking. Thanks a lot for your love and passion in Chinese food and sharing it with the world!
I figured it out the flavour before without deep frying...but it ends up like some kind of thick soup of melted eggplant, then I added some minced beef into it...finally, the thick soup perfectly fits rice
Thank you for this. I was just thinking I wanna try make Chinese style eggplant with tofu but was not gonna fry it originally. I still might just to test it for myself, but Very happy to see your version first. Read my mind.
AFAIK, actually most Chinese people do not deep fry eggplant when they cook at home. The reason those restaurants deep fry eggplant probably because that's the most efficient way to serve this dish.
Unfortunately to have delicious eggplant, the dish needs to be oily. But we can borrow some techniques from "茄子煲” to reduce the oil usage. (NOTE: Don't add any water to this dish. ) First, slice eggplant to similar shape as French fries, then soak the prepared eggplant into salt water about 15mins ish and dry it, so when we cook eggplant, it requires less oil and can be easily cooked. Second, when eggplant is cooked, it turns to very soft, we need some gentle cooking methods to avoid mess, i.e less touching, we can use soft(low) heat to 焖 and gradually add oil during the process, it's little bit similar to stream. After the eggplant turns to soft and changes its color(from white to grey), pre-cook all other ingredients, then gently mix them together.
Quite a good informal video, I loved eating this dish in China, and when trying to make it at home I was a little disappointed to see most recipes say to deep fry it, I think deep frying is okay as a treat but I don't want to do it often, today I just gave it a shallow fry with a couple table spoons and it was actually pretty great, I will try steaming it next time, and the salting before cooking it part is super important
Ya, that's why in cantonese style restaurant, we always have this dish in a hot clay pot, really gotta let the stirfry simmer a while in a pot to let the flavour soak into the vege. But to do this, make sure you give a bit more sauce/water, so the dish doesn't dry out while simmering. Also recommend substituting part of/entirely the salt with vietnamese fish sauce, this will add in more umami flavour.
I was screaming at the screen: „Of course it is a bit bland - you did not let the steamed eggplant to properly absorb the sauce!!!” I was really pleased to see that he is actually smart and he saw his „error”!
Very well done man, really love your investigative and experimental spirit and your pursuit of authentic taste with new methods.... I'll try steaming next time as I don't eat too much fried eggplants exactly cos they often taste too oily when cooked in the traditional way^^
Super vid, super Format! Ich hätte gerne mehr solche Vergleiche. Ich hasse frittieren, also danke, dass du es auf dich genommen hast, diesen Test zu machen. Ich bin gespannt ob das auch die Lösung für marinierte japanische Auberginen eine Alternative ist. Aber das hier wird auf jeden Fall auch ausprobiert.
Instead of steaming, I microwave my eggplant. Put the whole eggplant in or cut it in half to fit on a plate, then put some water on the bottom, microwave for 5 minutes. This method saves you a ton of time and it's super healthy.
No need to deep fry, but you want your oil to coat the eggplants nicely (it's hard coz the texture's like sponge). What I do every time when stir frying eggplant is I soaked the eggplants in the water for like ten minutes, then I transfer these soaked eggplants in the hot oil right away, and immediately I put the lid on the wok, the oil will splash all over inside the wok, and coat eggplants nicely.
fuuuuuuck, i forgot the ginger! and i had no sugar left, so i used maple syrup. still tasty and fastly done, thanks for sharing! cant wait to do it even more right the next time :)
You could explore the Indian way to cook eggplants in dishes like bharli vangi or baigan bharta. In the former, it is sort of cooked like a pasta dish and in the latter, it is simply roasted!
