Cook this
The working recipe — the Market List, the Method, and where it lives or dies
I
Origin
Not yet written for this entry.
II
Description
Aubergine fried until silky and yielding, dressed in the yu xiang ('fish-fragrant') sauce of doubanjiang, garlic, ginger, spring onion, Chinkiang vinegar, sugar, and soy sauce — with no fish in sight. The name refers to the seasoning profile historically used for fish dishes in Sichuan — the same sweet-sour-hot-savoury combination was applied to the aubergine and the name stuck. Yu xiang aubergine is one of the most commonly cooked preparations in the Chinese home kitchen and one of the most demanding to execute correctly: the aubergine must be cooked to exactly the right silky, yielding, almost collapsing texture without becoming waterlogged.
III
The Thread
—Turkish imam bayildi (aubergine braised in olive oil with tomato and onion) uses the same technique of cooking aubergine to complete softness before adding the sauce
—Japanese nasu dengaku (aubergine with miso glaze) applies a similar sweet-savoury miso coating to the same vegetable
—Italian melanzane alla parmigiana uses the same pre-fry-then-sauce principle
IV
Flavour Context
Not yet written for this entry.
Pillars V — VII
The full training pages are part of membership.
Quality hierarchy, sensory tests, and where the dish lives or dies — on every entry in the Library.
Enter · from $49 a year