CHINESE EGGPLANT WITH GINGER AND SCALLIONS

CHINESE EGGPLANT WITH GINGER AND SCALLIONS image

Yield 4-6 people

Number Of Ingredients 14

1-1/2 pounds chinese or japanese eggplant
1 teaspoon asian sesame oil
For The Sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce, or to taste
2 tablespoons rice wine
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 tablespoon canola oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger
3 scallions, white part minced,
green part thinly sliced for garnish
1 to 3 serrano or jalapeno chilies, minced (for a milder dish, remove the seeds)

Steps:

1. Preheat the grill to medium high heat. Peel the eggplants and cut on the diagonal into 1/4-inch slices. Brush the slices with sesame oil and grill over medium heat for 2 minutes per side or until golden brown. The recipe can be prepared up to 24 hours ahead to this stage. 2. For the sauce, combine the soy sauce, rice wine, vinegar, sugar, and cornstarch in a small bowl and stir to mix. 3. Heat a wok (preferably non-stick) over a high flame. Swirl in the canola oil. Add the garlic, ginger, scallion whites, and chilies and stir fry for 10 seconds or until fragrant but not brown. Add the eggplant and stir fry for 1 minute. Stir the sauce and add it to the eggplant. Bring the mixture to a boil; the sauce should thicken. Transfer the eggplant to a platter or bowl and sprinkle with scallion greens. The eggplant can be served hot or cold as an appetizer or vegetable side dish. This rendition calls for grilling the eggplant, which imparts a smoky flavor in addition to dramatically reducing the fat.