I had tried making Yuxiang Eggplant a few times before, but I was never happy with the results. No matter what I did, something always felt off, and I started to believe that cooking eggplant just wasn’t my thing.
Then, a friend shared Made with Lau’s Yuxiang sauce recipe with me… With this sauce, the flavors finally came together, and for the first time, I truly loved the Yuxiang Eggplant I made. It felt like a little victory in the kitchen, so I knew I had to document the recipe and share it!
RECIPE
- 2 eggplants
- minced pork
- minced scallion
- minced garlic
- minced ginger
- minced jalapeno/chili pepper
- corn starch
- Yuxiang sauce:
- 1tbsp dark soy sauce
- 2tbsp soy sauce
- 1-2tbsp oyster sauce
- 1tbsp vinegar （I skipped cuz I don’t like vinegar)
- 0.5tbsp bean sauce 豆瓣酱
- 1.5tbsp brown sugar
- 2tsp corn starch
- 1tbsp cooking wine
- 4tbsp water
STEP 1: Slice eggplants into 2-3 inch long, 1-inch wide chunks, add salt and let marinate for 15-30 minutes. After marinating, squeeze out excess water—this helps the eggplant turn crispy when (pan)frying and absorb the sauce better
STEP 2: While the eggplant is marinating, mince the scallion, ginger, garlic, and jalapeño/chili pepper
STEP 3: In a small bowl, mix all Yuxiang sauce ingredients
STEP 4: Coat the eggplant with generous amount of corn starch. Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan over high heat. When the oil starts smoking, add the eggplant, leave it, and flip to the other side when one side is golden. Be patient—this “golden coat” enhances fragrance and indicates the eggplant is dehydrated enough to soak up the Yuxiang sauce. Transfer to a plate
STEP 5: Reheat the pan (no need to add oil as mince pork is fatty enough). Add the pork and stir-fry until slightly golden. Avoid overcooking, as fully “golden” pork may taste too dry
STEP 6: Add the minced scallion, ginger, garlic, and jalapeño/chili pepper. Stir-fry until fragrant, then return the eggplant to the pan
STEP 7: Pour in the Yuxiang sauce and stir-fry over medium heat until fully absorbed
(OPTIONAL) STEP 8: Add dry vermicelli and let it absorb the sauce as it cooks. Add water if needed to prevent drying out. Once the vermicelli is cooked, plate and enjoy
READY TO SERVE!
RESOURCES
- Recipe from “Made with Lau” here
