Eggplant Cold Dish in Flavorful Chinese Seasonings 中式涼拌茄子

When you Google eggplant cold dish or any sort of eggplant salad, usually you'll find a lighter version of Japanese recipe. No doubt, the Japanese version of eggplant cold dish recipes are quite popular online. But this time around we are talking about the Asian aromatics-filled eggplant recipe instead, with spicy chilies and kicking garlics.

Eggplant cold dish in flavorful Chinese seasonings 中式涼拌茄子 - 

Ingredients?

• 2 long or 1 big round eggplant
• 1 small bundle cilantro
• 4 garlic cloves
• 2 to 4 red chilies
• 1 teaspoon red chili powder
• 1 tablespoon toasted white sesame seeds
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 1/2 tablespoons black vinegar
• 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon black sesame oil

How?

There is no need to peel the eggplant, simply steam till softened but not soggy, about 15 to 20 minutes. Once done, remove from heat and wait till cool enough to handle by hand. Squeeze out the liquid first. You'll be surprised how much water these eggplants will hold. After that, tear the eggplant into strips and set aside for later use.

Prepare a big serving bowl that can withhold the heat from sizzling oil. To there, add in destemed and chopped red chilies, 4 peeled and chopped garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of red chili powder, and 1 tablespoon of toasted white sesame seeds.

Have a small pot ready and pour in 1/2 cup of olive oil. Bring up the heat and make sure the oil gets hot, pour that right on top of the aromatics prepped earlier in the bowl.

I actually put the bowl inside the sink before pouring in the hot oil. If the oil splashes out, at least it'll hit the sink wall and that means easy cleaning job for me afterwards.

So once the hot oil touches these aromatics, it should start sizzling, which will help releasing the aroma and flavors. Let's add some seasonings too, 2 1/2 tablespoons of soy sauce, 2 1/2 tablespoons of black vinegar, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of black sesame oil.

Give it a good mix then transfer the eggplant strips over. Mix till evenly blended too.

Lastly, chop some cilantro and mix together with the eggplant. Adding the cilantro last will help preserving its refreshing aroma, also a bit vibrant green color pop.

With all the ingredients listed here will give you a very flavorful result. However, there is one extra ingredient that you can add to the bunch, to further enhance the somewhat already heavy seasonings. That is, the century egg.

Basically it's Chinese preserved duck egg, the black colored kind. So if you don't mind such distinct ingredient, simply peel-off one preserved egg and smash into the whole eggplant bunch. It'll help binding all the seasonings, giving you a smoother touch yet with added depth of savory note. 

Other eggplant recipes:

• Seared eggplant with dried shrimp and garlic 醬燒蝦米茄子排
• Cubed eggplant and ground pork stir-fry with spicy fermented bean paste 炒辣豆瓣醬茄子豬肉丁