Eggplant-chicken stir fry…My homealone lunch

Today’s post is going to be short and spicy. Short because with the new home karaoke system being in constant use by the father son duo am seeking for a hiding place to rest my ears in peace. Before doing so just thought of writing his post for some of my readers who asked for more chicken recipes.

Stir fried eggplant with any sort of meat is a very popular dish in China. I first tasted this in a Chinese restaurant near our apartment in Japan. It tasted delicious with white steamed rice and Kimchi salad at the sides. I wont lie, the first look of this dish was not very happy as it came to the table with loads of dry red chilies which made me scared. But sometimes looks are deceptive. The chillies in this dish are used to give it a smoky and spicy flavour but they are used whole so it does not make this dish very spicy. Since then I have been making this often for my quick home alone lunches. Like any stir fry or any Chinese dish this one is easy and quick too. If you have the ingredients in hand then you can serve a scrumptious and wholesome meal within 20 minutes.

Popularly this is cooked with thinly sliced Pork or beef but I cooked it with Chicken breast.

Eggplant Chicken Stir fry

(serves 2 with Rice)

Ingredients:

Eggplant: 3 medium (Japanese eggplants or long slender purple variety)

Chicken breast: 1 piece

Onion: 1, medium

Garlic: 6-8 fat cloves

Dry red chilies: 10-12

Vinegar: 2 tsp

Light Soy sauce: 1 tbsp: 2 tsp

Oyseter sauce/Mushroom sauce: 1 tbsp

Red chili sauce: 1 tsp

Sugar: ½ tsp

Salt

Oil: 2 tbsp+2 tsps

Roasted sesame seeds: 1 tbsp (optional)

Method:

Wash the chicken breast and diagonally slice it in thin slices. Dry the excess moisture and mix with 2 tsp soy sauce. keep aside.

Cut the eggplants in half and diagonally slice it in ½” thick pieces. soak in water for 5-6 minutes.

Thickly slice the onion in half moon shape, chop the garlics very fine and keep everything separate.

Heat 1 tbsp oil and sauté the eggplants on medium high with a pinch of salt. Once they are softened take out. Heat another tbsp of oil and fry the chicken pieces till opaque (2-3 minutes) and keep aside.

Heat the rest of the oil and add the chopped garlic and whole dry chillies. Stir on high till a smoky spicy aroma comes through. Add in the onion and fry till the raw smell is gone. Lower the hit and mix in the chicken and eggplants. Mix all the sauces and vinegar with ¼ cup of water and add to the pan along with the sugar. Check and if needed add more salt per taste. Give it a good stir. Cover for a couple of minutes for all the flavours to develop.

I like it with coating gravy to mix with my rice but keep the gravy as much as you like. Serve Hot with a final sprinkling of roasted sesame seeds.

A Homemaker's Notes:

• To substitute chicken you can use Tofu. Thinly slice it and marinate with 1/2 tbsp of cornflour and little soy sauce. This will give it a light coating to hold the shape. Follow the rest of the recipe as is.

• You can entirely skip chicken and can make it with eggplant itself. This tastes delicious on its own.

• I often add handful of pok choy just a couple of minutes before taking it off heat. Do not cook the pok choy or Chinese greens like mustard leaves etc. They should keep the crunch but wilt a little from the heat.  

Events:

Sending this to the Clever chicks Blog Hop #45 at Kathy's blog.