Weeknight Spicy Eggplant with Garlic Sauce (Yu Xiang Qiezi)

Plump, saucy, spicy, tangy, savory. Those are the qualities of Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce, which is called yu xiang qiezi in Mandarin and often times presented in English as eggplant in hot garlic sauce, or eggplant with garlic sauce. What has intrigued me about the dish -- aside from its rich, complex flavor, is its meaning in Chinese. Yu xiang qiezi literally means fish fragrance eggplant.

What is Chinese fish fragrance?

There’s no seafood involved. Yu xiang literally means fish fragrance but I prefer a lyrical interpretation because the terms refer to an enticing, aromatic sauce that offers savory, pungent, spicy, umami, slightly notes. Yu xiang likely originated in Sichuan. Yu xiang is incredibly alluring when done well. On Chinese restaurant menus, yu xiang qiezi may be presented at eggplant in hot garlic sauce. If it contains meat, the dish would likely be listed in the meat section. Yu xiang sauce may be used to prepare dishes such as shredded pork in garlic sauce, yu xiang rou si.

What’s often presented at Chinese restaurants as eggplant in garlic sauce tends to be rather heavy from deep frying and one-dimensional tasting from a lavish use of chile garlic sauce. Good versions employ Sichuan chile garlic sauce for punchy, earthy fermented chile bean sauce (doubanjiang) or pickled chiles, black vinegar, soy sauce and a touch of sugar. It’s more complex tasting than what’s prepared at many restaurants. There are many renditions and I recently tried out a smart recipe by Bill, Judy, Sarah and Kaitlin Leung in their best-selling cookbook, The Woks of Life. The Leung family uses oyster sauce and other basic Chinese pantry items to achieve their yu xiang flavor. Instead of pickled or fermented chile bean sauce, they deploy dried chiles. Additionally, they sear and pan-fry the eggplant in lieu of flash frying the eggplant in lots of oil -- the traditional method for yu xiang qiezi.

Eggplant Selection and Storage Tips

Chinese eggplant is sold at many supermarkets but I prefer to shop for mine at Asian markets or purchase from Asian farmers at my farmer's market. The eggplant are fresh and the Chinese variety has a relatively thin skin with creamy flesh. Japanese eggplant works for this recipe but its skin is a little thicker than that of Chinese eggplant.

When choosing eggplant, I remind myself that just because an eggplant isn't camera ready doesn't mean that it's no good. You want to avoid mushy ones BUT, they should have a little give. Brown areas are ok so long as there aren't too many. In this pile at 99 Ranch, I picked the ones toward the top back. Eggplants can be stored unrefrigerated. Since it's winter and about 60F in my garage, I took the eggplants out of their produce bag and set them atop a cardboard box.

Eggplant with Garlic Sauce How-to Video

Here's a casual video of me making this recipe. I speak limited Mandarin so forgive me if my pronunciation of yu xiang qiezi isn't as good as that of a native speaker! Please disable ad blockers to VWK if you don't see the video. And, try refreshing your browser too/

Thank you and I hope this recipe encourages you to make this deliciously doable recipe.

Print Recipe

4.50 from 2 votes

Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

On Chinese restaurant menus, this is often called eggplant with hot garlic sauce but its literal name is fish fragrance eggplant -- yu xiang qiezi. See Notes for tips, such as making a vegan take. This recipe was adapted from Bill, Judy, Sarah and Kaitlin Leung’s The Woks of Life (Potter, 2022).

Servings: 4

Ingredients

• ⅛ teaspoon ground white pepper
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ½ teaspoon dark soy sauce (see Note for substitute)
• 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon unseasoned rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine (see Notes for substitutes)
• 1 ½ tablespoons oyster sauce, standard or vegetarian
• ½ cup water
• 1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic
• 1 pound Chinese eggplant (2 large or 3 medium)
• 4 to 6 tablespoons neutral oil, such as canola or peanut
• 4 ounces ground pork or chicken
• 2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
• 3 dried Japones or Arbol chiles, stemmed, seeded and snipped into small pieces
• 2 green onions, white and green parts chopped

Instructions

• In a small bowl, combine the white pepper, cornstarch, sugar, dark soy sauce, regular soy sauce, vinegar, and rice wine. Stir to dissolve the solids. Stir in the oyster sauce, water, sesame oil, and 1 tablespoon garlic. Set the seasoning sauce aside.
• Peel off the stem flaps from the eggplants then trim the ends. Cut each eggplant on an angle, rotating it with each cut to yield triangular bite-size chunks.
• Heat a large wok (or skillet) over medium-high heat until hot. Pour in 1 ½ tablespoons oil around the perimeter to evenly coat. Working in batches as needed, add the eggplant in a single layer, lower the heat to medium, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, flipping and stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is lightly browned. Pour another 1 tablespoon oil around the perimeter and continue cooking as a single layer for 4 minutes, stirring occasionally, until evenly seared, soft and slightly translucent. Transfer to a plate. As needed, repeat the frying to cook any remaining raw eggplant.
• Increase the heat to high and add 1 ½ tablespoons oil to the wok. Add the pork and cook until opaque, breaking it up into small bits as you go. Add the ginger, dried chiles, and remaining 1 tablespoon of garlic. Cook for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring constantly, until the aromatics are fragrant.
• Put the eggplant back into the wok and stir-fry until combined. Re-stir the seasoning sauce then add to the wok. Mix well and bring to a simmer, cooking until the sauce is just thick enough to coat as spoon. Stir in the green onion, then remove from the heat. Transfer to a serving dish or shallow bowl and serve immediately.

Notes

Ingredients: No dark soy sauce? Use regular soy. The dark soy sauce adds rich color but you’ll be ok if you don’t have it.

If you need and assist, check out my Shaoxing Rice Wine Buying and Substitution Guide.

Timing: Fry the eggplant hours or a day in advance, refrigerate if keeping overnight. Always return the eggplant to room temperature to finish cooking with the pork and sauce.

Equipment: Instead of a wok, cook in a large (12-inch) skillet to fry the eggplant in 1 batch. Before adding the sauce, lower the heat to medium-high to slow cooking down.

Variation: For a vegan take, substitute 6 ounces coarsely chopped fresh mushroom (white, cremini or shiitake) for the pork. Season it with a little salt or splash of soy sauce while you cook it.