Recipe: Sichuan Eggplant

Turn up the heat with this spicy vegan flavour bomb, perfect for warming up in the cooler weather.

This soul-warming and spicy Sichuan-style eggplant is a favourite of our head chef Brooke Ng. The ultimate comfort food, her grandma would make it for her when she was young.

Ingredients: 500g eggplant 1 thumb-sized piece of ginger 2 tbsp vegetable oil 1 tbsp spicy bean paste 10 Sichuan peppercorns

1 tsp fresh coriander (for garnish)  

Sauce: 1 tsp soy sauce 1 tbsp white sugar 1 tbsp Chinese black vinegar 1 tsp Chinese cooking wine 1 tsp cornstarch   Method: 1. Mix sauce ingredients in a medium size bowl, mix well and set aside. 2. Cut eggplant into strips, set aside. Mince the ginger. 3. Heat oil in a wok or a large pan on low heat. Add Sichuan peppercorns, frying for about 15 seconds to release flavours. Add ginger and spicy bean paste to the wok/pan. Stir fry until red oil separates from the paste, about 20 seconds. 4. Turn up the heat, add eggplant to the wok, fry until it becomes soft, about 5 minutes. 5. Add sauce mixture to the wok/pan, mix well, let it simmer about 10-15 minutes. 6. Transfer eggplant onto a serving plate, sprinkle coriander over the dish as garnish, and serve immediately.