I like to use large Western eggplants for this dish as shredding the steamed eggplants to serve without the skin gives them a delicious silky texture. If you prefer Japanese eggplants, you can leave the skin on.
Ingredients
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tbsp black vinegar
1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tsp sugar
2 large eggplants
1 tsp sesame oil
2 tsp chilli oil
1 tsp Sichuan pepper oil (optional)
2 cloves garlic, very finely minced
1cm ginger, peeled and julienned
2 spring onions, finely sliced
2 tbsp vegetable oil
Method
1. Mix the rice vinegar, black vinegar, soy sauce, oyster sauce and sugar. Quarter the eggplants lengthways and steam in a bamboo steamer for about 15 minutes. Remove, then separate the flesh in large pieces from the skin while the eggplant is still warm.
2. Place the eggplant flesh on a serving plate and drizzle over the sauce mix, plus the sesame oil, chilli oil and Sichuan pepper oil. Place the garlic, ginger and spring onions on top. Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan until smoking, then pour over the eggplant before serving.
Adam's tipSichuan pepper oil, black vinegar and glutinous rice flour are all available from Asian grocers. Alternatively, you can leave out the Sichuan pepper, substitute rice or apple cider vinegar for the black vinegar, or use cassava flour instead of the glutinous rice flour.