Steamed eggplant with garlic vinaigrette 蒜蓉蒸茄子

[abcdefg]

With the arrival of warmer summer days, I've been looking for ways to have less fried food while still enjoying premium local fresh produce and bold Chinese flavors. Eggplant 茄子 (qiezi) is one of my favorite vegetables, and tonight I made it steamed for supper. Let me show you how.

 

Bought three of these tender long Asian eggplants 长茄子 at the outdoor market, along with some mildly-spicy crinkly red peppers 红椒 and a handful fresh spring onions 大葱. Took three heads of single-clove garlics 独蒜 from my existing kitchen stash. 

 

(You can click the photos to enlarge them.)

 

          

 

 

When making an eggplant dish it's best to prepare the other ingredients first, saving the eggplant until last. If it stands too long in room air, the cut edges turns an unattractive brown color. So that's the sequence I followed today. 

 

If you're not used to cooking with these Chinese spring onions, I can save you some time. Don't try washing them to remove the sand and soil. Just grasp a few leaves and peel them all the way to the root end, then snap that part off. I cut them on a bias with my sharp Hong Kong knife 菜刀 so they would fall apart and blend better with the eggplant in the steamer. 

 

     

 

Next I sliced the peppers in half and removed the fibrous core as well as most of the seeds. Sliced them into julienne slivers 切丝。

 

     

 

 

Smashed the garlic, removed the skin, and then minced it fine 蒜蓉。

 

     

 

 

 

After washing the eggplants, removed the stems and cut them into long pieces 切条 without worrying too much about making them completely uniform in size like you would if using them in a stirfry. These eggplants are young and tender; no need to remove the skin. Put all the ingredients together in a shallow bowl and set it in a steamer. Had I not had a steamer, would have used a wok with a lid. 

 

     

 

 

 

 

Let it steam for a scant 7 or 8 minutes, until the eggplant pieces can be easily pierced with a chopstick. While that was going on, I made a simple sauce. Whisked together one part aged vinegar 老陈醋, one part light soy sauce 生抽, one part sesame oil 香油。Stir in a teaspoon of salt, half a teaspoon of chicken essence 鸡精, and a big pinch of sugar. When it's done, lift it out. Remember that the dish is real hot, so best to use a tool such as the one shown here. Drizzle on the sauce, stir it gently and serve while nice and warm. 

 

      

 

 

Inexpensive, healthy, easy summer food. Give it a try and see what you think. 

[Alex_Hart]

Looks delicious, abcd! Must cost just a couple of yuan by the time it hits the table.

 

I'm with you on finding ways to avoid standing over the wok in this weather, but I'm still mixed on steamed eggplant. I've never made it at home, but I've often felt it to be quite soggy in restaurants. At home, I always stir fry or bake it in the oven. Is eating it right off the steamer enough to avoid "mushy" eggplant?

[abcdefg]

Thanks, Alex. It's tender, but not "mushy." I think the critical factor is to not steam it too long. I usually test it after only 4 or 5 minutes. If a chopstick will pierce the skin and flesh easily, I take it out. Usually takes 7 or 8 minutes to get properly done, and I remove it promptly, just a little before point, realizing that some residual cooking will still take place after it is off the flame.  

 

And after it is out of the steamer, I don't toss it or mix it vigorously like a tossed salad. That breaks the eggplant up too much. Let the diners make sure that each bite gets plenty of sauce and condiments as they pick it up; leave that task to them. 

 

In all candor, however, steamed eggplant is never going to be "al dente" -- it won't have the crunch that cucumber or celery might, even though the thinly sliced peppers and the minced garlic do provide some texture contrast. 

[abcdefg]

Equipment footnote:

 

Steaming is a popular way to prepare food in an ordinary Chinese home kitchen. Just about everyone has a steamer pot, some of which have several layers to allow steaming a vegetable in one layer while steaming a fresh fish in another layer just below. Many people also use these steamers to make steamed buns 馒头 mantou and stuffed buns 包子 baozi. Here's a look at my simple steamer.

 

     

 

You can place food directly onto the perforated metal plate or, more commonly, onto a shallow bowl or dish. The latter way is more popular because it allows you to catch the cooking juices as they are released. You don't loose any flavor.

 

     

 

 

Once the food is done, you need to lift out the hot dish. It's difficult with pot holders since there isn't much finger room. A hinged, claw-foot tool such as the one shown here, comes in very handy. Can't tell you how many times I burned my fingers before breaking down and spending 10 Yuan to buy this one.  

 

 

 

 If you don't have a steamer pot, you can use the basket insert in your rice cooker. I often do that so as to cook a vegetable at the same time as making steamed rice 米饭。But you don't need to be cooking rice; you can just put water into the cast iron bowl. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And if you don't have a rice cooker, it's easy enough to use your wok. Put water into the wok, bring it to a boil. Set the food dish on a wire trivet that is high enough and big enough around, and cover the wok with its lid.

 

     

 

 

I have a collection of these wire trivets; several heights and diameters. They only cost about 10 Yuan each and they double as a way to protect your counter top from a hot pot or pan that is straight from the stove. 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Since moving to China, I find that I steam food more often than when I lived in the U.S. In talking with my Kunming friends, it seems they use this cooking method a lot too, some just about every day, especially in summer because it means you don't need to stand over a hot wok. 

[Bibu]

well done. next time, try 东北蒜泥茄子， it is for summer as well.....

[abcdefg]

Thanks @Bibu -- I wasn't familiar with that but I looked it up. Must agree that it sounds refreshing for summer. I will definitely try it. 

 

 

Here's a recipe I found on-line. Is that how you make it at home? Do you put it in the refrigerator while it marinates, while the flavors blend?

 

http://www.douguo.com/cookbook/813017.html 

[Bibu]

https://www.jianshu.com/p/69dce1a44d04

 

above is another recipe for your reference. Not necessary put in refrige, I ate mostly fresh, wait some 10 minutes on the table to cool down, it is fresh....

 

another key is the sauce.. vineger, garlic , sesames oil is the key, other credients various from home to home. Find a 东北人nearby， ask him/her how is your dish, they are the final judge.

I am afraid i am not 东北人 LOL. It is a 100% home made dish.

 

good luck..

[abcdefg]

Thanks. I'll give it a try one day next week. Bet it would be good alongside a Beijing roast duck 北京烤鸭。

[Bibu]

北京烤鸭， That is one of few Beijing dishes  I like.

 

It is quite a strange combination to me, roasted+ 东北cold dish...,would like to know how it tastes.

[abcdefg]

I live in Yunnan and we often have a 凉拌 on the table alongside warm food. 你从哪里来？

[akdn]

Nice dish. Here's how ours turned out:

 

 

[abcdefg]

That looks delicious @akdn. Thanks for posting! 

[Bibu]

eating it now. looks ok, but can not match northeast flavor half.

油炸花生米，+  白酒 lol

[Bibu]

油炸花生米，+  白酒 lol

[roddy]

On 6/11/2018 at 12:45 PM, abcdefg said:

That looks delicious

Had the good fortune to be present and it was, indeed, delicious. So much so I’m now under orders to make it myself. 

[Bibu]

Quote

On 5/29/2018 at 8:45 AM, abcdefg said:

live in Yunnan and we often have a 凉拌 on the table alongside warm food. 你从哪里来？

 

Suppose to answer it, I am a 100% northern now in Canton,  roughly half Xian Half Beijing.

 

Cold dish is quite normal in north China, in summer or to company 白酒, in south China, not much could dishes. Yunnan seems a little different, cold dishes seen daily life. 

 

When you checking dialects GEO pattern, Yunnan, Guizhou, Sichuan belongs to southwest official dialects,Mandarin. Not much diff from northern official dialects, on the contrary, Wuyue,(江浙) Canton, Minnan... is rather another language to a Northerner.

Map_of_sinitic_languages_full-en.svg

[abcdefg]

@Bibu -- I made Beijing eggplant 北京茄子 one day last week. It was refreshing, but sure did have a strong flavor of garlic. I didn't think it was well balanced. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A summer eggplant dish which I like much more is 火烧茄子。(Very popular here in Yunnan. ) The eggplant is roasted over coals along with red bell peppers and hot chilies. It's brushed with oil, sprinkled with vinegar and salt. Usually eaten at room temperature as a 凉拌。It has a slight smoky taste. I often have it with roast duck 宜良烤鸭。

 

[Bibu]

烧茄子 or 红烧茄子 is one of few 食堂 dishes eatable,if you lead a life in 大单位， 学校 etc.

 

the pic above does like tipical 烧茄子, it is dark and oil....

[abcdefg]

I think maybe you misunderstood, @Bibu -- It is 火烧茄子 not 红烧茄子。 A very different dish. I'm not sure if it is popular outside of Yunnan. 

 

I buy the eggplant and the two kinds of peppers freshly roasted in the market, on a grill over coals like 烧烤。Then I combine them with some cilantro 香草, spring onion 小葱 and other seasonings at home. One stand at the market used to sell it freshly made on weekends, but they went out of business. They had a grill right outside the door. 

[Bibu]

@abcdefg seems i wrong again. I guess this is the egg elephant you refer to，I would like to try some time. http://blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_622760f60100er37.html