Spicy Chinese Steamed Eggplant with Sizzling Soy Sauce

Do you remember the Steamed Eggplant dish from Hunan Chilli King ? Well apparently it's been on the Missus's mind. Because of work, and our just plain busy schedules, it doesn't seem like we'll be able to get to the SGV for a while. So the Missus ordered requested that I try my hand at making the dish. It's really not that difficult, this is just your basic Chinese steamed fish dish, using eggplant instead of the fish. There are some nuances, but you'll spend most of your time waiting for the eggplant to finish steaming.

  

I made this twice over the past week, and what follows are mostly notes, and guidelines.

First off, I used four Japanese Eggplants, the main reason being I don't have a very large steamer, and I could arrange the eggplants in the shape of the plate. Making the first recipe, I added five whole cloves of garlic, one thumb size piece of ginger sliced into a thin julienne, and 2 tablespoons of fermented black bean that had been rinsed. I found that the ginger pretty much got lost in the whole steaming process. So making the second recipe, I placed the eggplant into the steamer with just the black bean and garlic. The garlic becomes soft and tender, and really tastes very sweet eaten whole.

 

So what of the ginger? I end up adding the ginger during the last ten minutes of steaming, along with 4 sliced serrano chilies. I tried adding the serranos at the end, but they tasted a bit too "green". The ten minutes of steam time softens them, and makes them sweeter. Those red chilies are added after steaming. I bought them frozen at Lucky Seafood..... they are pretty spicy.

The eggplant was first sliced in half lengthwise, than half again. They steam for about forty minutes.

 

While the eggplants are steaming, you can make the sauce. I start with a basic recipe of 1/4 cup superior or premium soy sauce to 1-1/2 tablespoon of white sugar. In this case, I did a double recipe. After mixing well to dissolve the sugar, I tasted and adjusted the sweetness. To finish, I drizzled in about 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil. Add the sauce to the eggplant during the end of the steaming process.

Meanwhile heat peanut oil until smoking. Bring the steamed eggplants to the table a pour the hot oil over the eggplant. You'll have some nice "sizzle-vision" going on.....

 

 

I noticed that the skin on the Japanese Eggplants are very soft and tender, the eggplant is creamy..... you'll need to good amount of rice as well.

Comments

[kat]

looks so good! I agree that this would need a lot of rice!

[sawyer]

wow, this looks delicious, and u make it sound pretty simple. i'm going to try this out myself because i love eggplant! my only question is did you purchase the black bean, and if so, where did you get it?

[Kirk]

Hi KAt - Yes, it turned out rather well.

Hi Sawyer - It is pretty easy to make. You can get fermented black bean at any Chinese Market. Make sure you get the ones in the cardboard cylinder - looks sort of like a small cardboard oatmeal container. Don't get the version on the plastic bags, those aren't as good.

[Su-Lin]

This does look scrumptious! I've been wanting to cook more eggplant now that it's the season for them and this recipe has been bookmarked for that purpose.

[Lynnea]

another yummy looking recipe =) lots of cooking lately! It's great.

[Stephen]

Kirk, that looks delicious. Would it come out as well with regular soy sauce? I have to watch my salt intake, and the premium seems to be pretty high in sodium content.

[Kirk]

Hi Su-lin - It's pretty tasty, we really enjoy this preparation.

Hi Lynnea - Yes, now that things are cooling off a bit, I'm in a better mood for cooking.

Hi Stephen - I'm sure you can, in fact you could probably use low sodium soy sauce. I think it would turn out okay.

[Judy @ TinkerWithFood]

oh my word... i have a huge bowl of rice. GIMME GIMME GIMME!

[kirbie]

This looks yummy! The Missus is lucky to have you cooking dishes for her!

[MrM]

That looks delicious, Kirk!

Thank you about the tip with the Serranos. I find that I have trouble with the 'Green' taste too if I overcook them. I have this problem when I try to cook aloo gobi with them.

Since I live in a heavily Hispanic area, they are pretty much the only medium hot chili I can get or I have to resort to Habeñeros...which work well with a lot of these types of dishes, if used sparingly. I'll need to find your preserved red chilis. Not too many Chinese Stores here in South Bay.

[Sandy]

I've never had eggplant prepared this way, and it sounds so yummy. This chili wimp will go easy on the peppers, though.

[Kirk]

Hi Judy - This was major rice eating material.....

Hi Kirbie - She keeps me sharp....

Hi MrM - Another thing you can do is to roast the serranos, it develops the sugars, and adds a nice smokiness to it all.

Hi Sandy - Serranos, if steamed for a bit are pretty mild. It's those red chilies that will get you!

[Hungry Huy]

Ooo looks good... I think I'll have to steal my roommate's steamer for this one. :)

[Kirk]

Hi HH - It's also pretty easy to make.