Sweet and Sour Eggplant

This delicious vegetarian dish takes a little effort to make, however the techniques used in the recipe can be transferred to many others, so it is well worth the practice. The batter is light and crunchy, and the sweet and sour sauce can be the base for many dishes. I simplified the sweet and sour sauce so you can remember it without looking up the recipe. The basic recipe for a sweet and sour sauce is: 3:2:1, that is 3 Tablespoons of sugar to 2 Tablespoons of vinegar to 1 Tablespoon of light soy sauce. Use a little cornstarch to thicken the sauce. You can add other stuff to suit your taste, I have added sesame seed oil, chopped scallion and crushed garlic to flavor the eggplant.

Ingredients:

1 large Opus Eggplant
A pinch of hot pepper flakes
1 thin slice of ginger
Oil for frying

Light and Crunchy Batter:

Mix together: 3 T. rice flour (use all-purpose flour if unavailable), 2 T. cornstarch, 1 egg yoke, 3 T. rice cooking wine or dry sherry wine.

Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce:

Mix together: 3 T. sugar, 2 T. Balsamic vinegar, 1 T. light soy sauce, 1 t. sesame seed oil, 1 t. cornstarch, 2 T. water, 2 cloves of garlic, crushed, 1 scallion, white part, chopped.

Method: Slice the eggplant into 1-1/2" x 1/4" slices. Sprinkle salt and toss. Let the eggplant set for 15 minutes. Squeeze to remove the moisture from the eggplant. Place the eggplant pieces in the batter. Toss to coat. Heat a large frying pan with 2" oil until hot. Fry the eggplant slices until golden, 2-3 minutes. Removed the fried eggplant and place them on a paper towel to drain. Heat 1 T. oil in the frying pan, add hot pepper flakes and ginger. Cook until fragrance begin to come out. Add the sweet and sour sauce. Stir, cook until thickened. Add the fried eggplant, toss to coat. Slice the green portion of the scallion and sprinkle on top. Serve with rice.

Learn more:
Learn how to grow eggplants: A Home Gardener's Guide for Grwoing Potatoes Story of growing eggplants: The Story of Mr. Holland and Opus Eggplant