Sweet & Sour basil eggplant
Reverse-engineered from a restaurant we ate at.
Ingredients
- 3 eggplants, japanese or chinese, partially peeled, cut into rectangles
- 2 tbsp oil
Sauce:
- 1 cup chicken stock
- 1 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp white vinegar
- 1 tbsp white sugar
- 2 tsp sherry or cooking wine
- 2 tsp ginger, coarsely chopped
- 1/2 cup thai basil, stems removed
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 1 tsp crushed garlic
Instructions
- Partially peel the eggplants so that they are striped, alternating between flesh that is peeled and not peeled (you can leave them unpeeled if they are very fresh or remove the skin entirely if they are older and tougher). Cut into 3 inch sections, then quarter them lengthwise.
- Oil the pan and par cook the eggplants on high heat until they have reduced in volume by about 1/3 and start to wilt. Remove from pan.
- Add garlic, ginger, sugar, pepper, and liquids to a pot over medium heat. Cook 5 minutes, stirring.
- Add eggplant. Cook, covered, stirring occasionally, about 10 minutes, until eggplants are semi-translucent and provide no resistence when a fork is inserted.
- Create a cornstarch slurry and add to the sauce until desired thickness. Add basil, mix for a few seconds until wilted, then serve.