Yu Xiang eggplant features crispy eggplant covered in a sticky sweet, sour, savory and slightly spicy sauce. A signature Sichuan dish that turns eggplant haters into eggplant lovers. {Vegetarian Vegan Adaptable, Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Yu Xiang eggplant (鱼香茄子), or Sichuan eggplant stir fry, is one of those under-appreciated Sichuan dishes that deserves more attention. Throughout the years, whenever I took a foreign friend or colleague to a Sichuan restaurant in Beijing, this stir fry was always one of the most popular dishes on the table.
What is yu xiang?
Yu xiang literally translates as “fish-fragrant” in Chinese, which might not sound as appetizing as the dish tastes.
In fact, fish-fragrant eggplant has nothing to do with fish.
According to folklore, a housewife was cooking eggplant for dinner and did not want to waste the leftover sauce used in a fish dish. The sauce was designed to cover up the fishiness and muddiness of river fish, so it was extra fragrant. The dish turned out so well and her husband loved it more than the original fish dish. Thus, the dish was named yú xiāng or “fish-fragrant” as an homage to the delicious sauce.
Yu xiang flavor is one of the seven key flavors in Sichuan cuisine. It contains soy sauce, Chinkiang vinegar, sugar, fermented spicy bean paste (dòubànjiàng), chili peppers, and a generous amount of fresh garlic, ginger and onion. It results in a well-balanced, sweet and sour spicy sauce that is bursting with umami. The taste might be considered similar to General Tso’s sauce, only 10 times more flavorful.
Yu xiang eggplant ingredients
What type of eggplant to use
The best eggplant for making yu xiang eggplant is Chinese eggplant or Japanese eggplant (they are very similar).
The long and skinny Asian eggplant contains less moisture than the Western type, which results in a crispier texture in the stir fry. However, you can also use Western eggplant by following the salt water soaking method in this recipe.
The best vinegar to use
Some yu xiang eggplant recipes call for rice vinegar. But if you really want the rich tangy taste like the restaurant version has, you should use Chinkiang vinegar instead.
Chinkiang vinegar (Zhenjiang vinegar, 镇江香醋) is a type of Chinese black vinegar. It is made from various grains and is aged until the color turns dark brown or inky black. It has a rich, pungent, and tart flavor, sometimes with a hint of sweetness. It has a fermented malty taste and a woody character that distinguish it from the light-colored and fruity rice vinegar.
These days it’s quite easy to find it in an Asian market and even at regular grocery stores. You can also shop for it on Amazon.
Doubanjiang
Doubanjiang (豆瓣酱), also called fermented spicy bean paste, is a key ingredient for the ultimate umami. It is a super rich, fermented, spicy paste made with dried fava beans, fresh chili peppers, salt, and wheat flour, then aged for one to eight years. Doubanjiang has a deep savory, spicy, and quite salty taste. It is a key ingredient in classic Sichuan dishes such as Mapo Tofu.
You can find it in an Asian market, on Amazon, or at Mala Market.
Sichuan peppercorns
Sichuan peppercorn (Hua Jiao, 花椒) is optional but I highly recommend adding it if you have it on hand. The taste of fresh Sichuan peppercorn is almost indescribable: numbing, tingling, and somewhat refreshing like mint. These peppercorns add a savory, smoky, and slightly citrusy flavor to a dish, and it’s that flavor that defines genuine Sichuan food. I consider it even more important than Sichuan chili peppers, truly distinguishing the dish and giving it a character unlike anything else. It’s a key ingredient in many classic Sichuan dishes such as Dan Dan Noodles, Mala Chicken, and Red Oil Wontons.
I highly recommend you purchase Sichuan peppercorns from Mala Market. They carry the freshest Sichuan peppercorns in the US, sourced directly from Sichuan. It truly makes a world of difference.
Mise en place
When you’re ready to cook yu xiang eggplant, your table should have:
- Mixed sauce
- Ground meat
- Aromatics (ginger, garlic, green onion)
- Sichuan spices (Doubanjiang, Sichuan peppercorns, dried chili pepper)
How to make yu xiang eggplant
- Pan fry the eggplant until crispy
- Sear the ground meat
- Add the aromatics
- Cook with doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorn
- Thicken the sauce
- Add the cooked eggplant back in
The secret to cooking perfect eggplant on the stovetop
Eggplant is one of the trickiest vegetables to cook with, though the result is super rewarding if you do it right. In the past, I’ve discovered the method of creating crispy eggplant on the stovetop without deep-frying. The key is to marinate the eggplant in salted water and then dust it with cornstarch before searing it on a flat-bottom pan. You can read my Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce recipe to view the details.
With this technique the eggplant pieces turn out extra crispy with a tender inside. Better still, you can use regular Western eggplant instead of Asian eggplant, and it will work perfectly!
It proves again that you can cook perfect yu xiang eggplant if you follow the right method. Next time you don’t need to make the extra trip to the Asian market to make this hearty dish.
How to keep the purple color of the eggplant?
The yu xiang eggplant from a Chinese restaurant has a beautiful bright purple color. It is achieved by flash frying (过油, Guo You) – the eggplant pieces are quickly fried in a pool of oil in a wok, until the outside is crispy and the inside is al dente. Many dishes use this method to preserve the color of the vegetable while maintaining a great texture.
I do not use the flash frying method at home because it requires a lot of oil. It is quite messy for a home kitchen, and creates a lot of smoke.
The pan frying method cuts the oil to a minimum, and the result is still great. To preserve the eggplant color, try cooking the eggplant until al dente instead of turning tender fully, for the best color.
How to serve yu xiang eggplant
Yu xiang eggplant is a very satisfying dish that you can serve as a main dish over steamed rice. In China, this one is a lunch set menu favorite!
Of course you can also serve yu xiang eggplant as part of a multi-course meal. For a full-on Sichuan dinner, serve this one along with dishes such as Pickled Cabbage, Mala Chicken (La Zi Ji), Dry Fried Green Beans, Dan Dan Noodles, and Stir Fried Pea Shoots.
More vegetable main dishes
- Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce
- Di San Xian (Fried Potato, Eggplant and Pepper in Garlic Sauce 地三鲜)
- General Tso Tofu (Crispy Tofu without Deep Frying)
- Chinese Vegetarian Noodle Soup
- Vegetarian Chow Mein
Yu Xiang Eggplant (鱼香茄子, Sichuan Eggplant Stir Fry)
Ingredients
- 2 (400 g) Chinese eggplant , cut to bite-sized pieces (or regular eggplant) (*Footnote 1)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch (to coat the eggplant)
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons Chinkiang vinegar
- 1 1/2 tablespoons light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/4 cup chicken stock (or vegetable stock)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Cook
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 4 oz (110 g) ground pork (or chicken) (*Footnote 2) (Optional)
- 2 green onions , sliced
- 2 cloves garlic , minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger , minced
- 8 to 10 dried Chinese chili peppers
- 2 teaspoons doubanjiang
- 1/4 teaspoon ground Sichuan peppercorn (Optional)
Instructions
- Place eggplant in a large bowl and add water to cover. Add 1 teaspoon salt, mix well. Place a plate on top so the eggplant pieces are submerged in the water. Let sit for 10 to 15 minutes while preparing the other ingredients. Once done, drain and pat dry with paper towels.
- Add all the sauce ingredients into a bowl. Stir to mix well.
- Sprinkle eggplant with cornstarch and mix by hand, until eggplant is evenly coated.
- Add 2 tablespoons of the oil to a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat until hot. Spread eggplant across the bottom of the skillet without overlapping. Cook the eggplant, stirring occasionally, until the edge of the eggplant is lightly charred and the texture just starts to soften, 5 minutes or so. Transfer to a plate. If the skillet gets too hot and starts to smoke, turn to medium heat.
- Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and the ground meat. Cook and chop the pork into smaller pieces, until fully cooked.
- Add green onion, garlic, ginger and chili pepper. Stir a few times to release fragrance.
- Add the doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorns. Stir and cook until the pork is evenly coated.
- Stir the sauce again to completely dissolve the cornstarch, then pour into the pan. Stir until the sauce thickens. Return the eggplant to the pan and quickly stir to mix everything well. Serve hot as a main dish or side dish.
Notes
- Long Asian eggplant (Chinese or Japanese eggplant) works the best and the soaking step can be skipped if you are using one of those two kinds. You can use regular Western eggplant instead. But make sure you use the salt soaking method if using regular eggplant.
- You can skip the ground meat to make a vegan dish and the sauce will still be very tasty.
My partner and I are not really fans of eggplant, but this recipe looked so good we gave it a try anyway. Oh my gosh, it was SO GOOD!
Even just the fried eggplant bare was yummy, but the sauce made them even better! I love the level of heat with doubanjang and the mala of the peppercorn infused oil. Delicious!
Hi Leah, I’m so glad to hear you like the dish! I don’t cook with eggplant so often because it’s so time consuming. But for this dish, it’s totally worth the effort 🙂
Thanks so much for taking time to leave a comment and hope you have a great weekend!
Thanks for the wonderful recipe! I’ve just tried this tonight. The sauce is absolutely delectable! Sticky sauce is perfect for the rice. However, it’s a tad bitter. What do you think what might have gone wrong? Too much ginger? Or have I let the peppercorn in the pan for too long?
Hi KK, I’m glad to hear you tried my recipe! Regard your question about the light bitter taste, it might be caused by Sichuan peppercorns. Adding ginger won’t cause any bitter flavor. The pan can be quite hot after you cooked the eggplant, so the hot oil might over cooked the Sichuan peppercorns. Next time you could try waiting until they turn darker, but not black.
I hope this is helpful and you’ll make a better batch of sauce the next time 🙂
This looks insanely delicious! I cannot wait to try this recipe out! Thanks for the share
we LOVE eggplant and had this dish in a good, family run hole in the wall sichuan restaurant while on the road this summer. i swore i’d make it if i could find a recipe with the abundance of asian eggplant from ou garden. made it tonight using home grown hot and sweet peppers and also added browned tofu chunks (doubled the sauce to accommodate and it was the perfect amount). thank you for a great recipe i am totally bookmarking this one to make again!
I tried this last night and it was delicious! I’ll be making it again!
I just made this, and it is delicious! I am so happy that I found this recipe because it is one of my favorite dishes. Thank you so much
Hi!
Can’t wait to try this ( vegan )I am a former Austinite now living in Hangzhou.Had this in Chengdu at a neighborhood shop on a cold rainy day and it warmed me up!!! Inside out..I have been craving it ever since.Thanks for the recipe will let you know how it turns out!
Hi Jonmarie, I’m glad to hear you wanted to try out this dish at home. Pretty sure the vegan version will be amazing too. Happy cooking and can’t wait to hear how your dish turns out! 🙂
lol i made this but in my rush i thought it said 2 tbsp of sichuan peppercorns for cooking instead 2 tsp. completely ruined the dish, after tasting i was thinking this recipe was horrible. im going to try to remake
Hello. We made this last night and it was SO good! We have never found a recipe for eggplant that we really enjoyed. Now we have. And you’re right–the eggplant did stay crispy, even when we added the sauce. Such a delicious combination of flavors. Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Hi Maggie. We have used 2 of your recipes this week. Sichuan Dry Fried Beans with pork is in regular rotation at our house, so that was one. The other was this Sichuan Eggplant Stir Fry. I was inspired to try it because we had an amazing Szechuan Eggplant with Fish dish at a restaurant (actually a counter at a food court) near Atlanta; trust me, it’s worth it! I didn’t find a specific recipe for that, but this dish comes close (without the fish). We used the long thin eggplants which did not stay crispy in the sauce but the texture and flavour were still lovely. We had it over riced cauliflower. Thank you for all your hard work!
There is nothing in the instructions about cooking the optional pork.
Oops! Sorry about that. I just added the instruction to step 7.
Thank you. I feel better about trying the recipe.
This is amazing. It literally melts in your mouth. It’s in my rotation. My family loves it. Thank you for this gem!
Hi I made way too much egg plant. Can I freeze this, after cooking it?
Thanks
This is how I discovered the website, searching for Sichuan eggplant! It was so delicious and the instructions were so clear and easy to follow. This dish melts in your mouth. Thanks Maggie!
Wow, what a great recipe. We live in a small town so the spicy bean paste isn’t in any of our grocery stores, but we found a bean sauce that has been paste as a main ingredient, so we used that and let the moisture cook off. We’re vegetarians so we’re always on the lookout for new recipes to have in our repertoire. Thanks. Excellent.
That was the tastiest Chinese dish I’ve ever made! Thank you so much! I can’t wait to try your other recipes now.
This dish was phenomenally delicious. The sauce was to die for. Ideal balance of sweet, sour and hot. Thank you Maggie!!
We cooked this last night. It was absolutely delicious. We followed the recipe closely, only sustituting sweet snack peppers for the chilis, and sherry for the wine. It took about 25 minutes to fry off the eggplants in 3 batches. We found that soaking and drying the eggplants in a salad spinner worked well. The szechuan peppercorns added a lot to the flavor of the dish. We’ll try it vegetarian next time…
I love your photos and your recipes. I had great success w/ the sichuan eggplant- tasted authentic and my whole family loved it. We also made the pineapple fried rice and honey garlic chicken wings and they all turned out delicious! You do a nice job of explaining the recipes and making authentic food accessible to everyone.
Hi I’m Stacia from Australia and very excited to try your Sichuan eggplant recipe I”ve always loved eggplant and wondered how to cook it so I’ll try it soon