Chinese-style eggplant

After eating this, my husband declared that I had successfully replicated his favorite eggplant dish from his favorite Chinese restaurant in Madison, WI, which, sadly, closed a few years back. At least we can remember Yan's fondly when we eat this dish.

General note on stir-fried dishes: once cooking is underway, there is no time between steps to prep things, so make sure that all vegetables are chopped, all ingredients are collected and sitting next to the stove, all condiment containers are opened and have spoons in them already. Letting the pan go unattended while you look for a spoon to scoop sauce out of the bottom of a jar means overcooked stir-fry.

Chinese-style eggplant
serves 2 to 3

2 large Asian eggplants (the long, skinny purple ones), sliced thickly on bias
2 cloves garlic, sliced
2 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
2 to 3 Tbsp oyster sauce
fresh grated ginger, soy sauce and sugar or honey to taste

Heat sesame oil in a large pan or wok on high heat. Cook garlic slices briefly, then add in eggplant slices and stir-fry until some browning occurs. Add a little soy sauce and water to the pan to finish cooking the eggplant with boiling water and steam. Add oyster sauce, fresh ginger and honey or sugar and stew the eggplants a few minutes until tender. If the liquid in the pan is getting sticky instead of making a smooth sauce, add more water. Serve over cooked brown rice (my preference with this dish) or white rice.

If a meaty dish is desired, this dish could be started by cooking very thinly sliced beef in the sesame oil until browned and then adding the rest of the ingredients in order. If you already have leftover cooked beef bits, add them in near the end of cooking to heat through.