Szechuan aubergines
Our veggie Szechuan aubergine stir-fry is a version of yu xiang qie zi or fish flavoured aubergine, so called because the flavours are usually used with fish. Buy Chinese black vinegar from Waitrose, souschef.co.uk, or Asian supermarkets. Leave the pork out to make this vegetarian
- oil
- 2 auberginescut into batons
- 100g (optional) minced pork
- 2 cloves garliccrushed
- (we used Ma Po sauce) Szechuan chilli bean paste
- grated to make 1 tsp ginger
- 1 tbsp golden caster sugar
- 100ml vegetable stock
- 2 tsp cornflour
- 4 tbsp Chinese black vinegar
- 2 spring onionssliced
Nutrition: per serving
- kcal95
- fat4.5g
- saturates0.8g
- carbs9.2g
- fibre4.4g
- protein2g
- salt0.3g
Method
step 1
Heat some oil in a wok and fry the aubergine batons until they are brown and blistered and meltingly tender, add more oil if you need to.Add in the mince, if using, and fry for a few minutes until browned and cooked.Add the garlic and stir once or twice then add the bean paste, ginger and sugar and stir-fry for a minute or two.Add the stock and bring to a simmer for a minute. Mix the cornflour with a little water to make a paste, stir this into the aubergine and cook for a minute, then add the vinegar and spring onions and cook for a minute before serving. Sprinkle with a few more spring onions to serve, if you like.
