Sometimes last month, I shared a video blog with you about my journey to become a chef. In the video, my shifu was teaching me on how to make fish & eggplant in clay pot. Many of you asked me to share this recipe. So today we are going to make this super delicious recipe!
1 eggplant, cut into 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide strips
8 ounces of tilapia
3 tablespoons of oil
2 pieces of green bell pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
2 pieces of red bell pepper, cut into 1 inch cubes
3 slices of ginger
3 cloves of garlic
1/2 of a cup of chicken stock
1 tablespoon of oyster sauce
1 tablespoon of soy sauce a pinch of pepper a pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon of corn starch and 1 tablespoon of water
1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce
2 tablespoons of minced scallion
Fish Marinade
1/2 of egg white
a pinch of salt
a pinch of pepper
a pinch of sugar
1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water
1 tablespoon of oil
First let’s slice up the fish into big slices. (When I first tried this recipe at home, I used cod and it didn’t turn out well, because the texture of cod is too delicate for pan frying. So today we are going to use tilapia because it has a tougher texture.)
Then let’s marinade our fish slices. In a big bowl, add 1/2 of egg white, a pinch of salt, a pinch of pepper, a pinch of sugar, 1 teaspoon of cornstarch and 1 tablespoon of water, 1 tablespoon of oil, and mix. Then add 8 ounces of fish slices in the bowl and combine well. Set aside for 10 minutes.
We are going to cut the eggplant into 2 inches long and 1/2 inch wide strips.
Then let’s have some fun! Let’s splash some water on 1 sliced eggplant. (Didn’t your parents tell you never to play with food? Haha. Ok, but this is a serious task!) My shifu, chef Luo taught me this trick. He told me, “Eggplant absorbs lots of oil while cooking, so we are using this technique to prevent extra oil from going in.”
Now we are going to pan fry the eggplant until brown. (He also added, “pan fry is better than deep frying eggplant because otherwise the eggplants will just simply absorb all the oil.” However, a lot of restaurants nowadays, they just deep frying it since it’s faster.) Take the eggplant strips out and put on a paper towel to drain any excess of oil.
Next up, add the marinated fish into the same pan, and cook both sides, until well done. Take the fish slices out and put on a paper towel to drain any excess of oil.
In this same lovely pan, add 3 tablespoons of oil, 2 pieces of green bell peppers, 2 pieces of red bell peppers and stir fry for a bit. Then add 3 slices of ginger, 3 cloves of garlic, 1 tablespoon of minced scallions, and wait until the aroma comes out. Pour 1/2 of a cup of chicken stock, 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon of soy sauce, a pinch of pepper, and a pinch of sugar. Transfer back the eggplant and the fish. Cover the lid. (The second time, I made this recipe I didn’t cover the lid and the eggplant turned out to be too hard.) Add teaspoon of corn starch and 1 tablespoon of water, 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce.
Transfer everything to a clay pot and 1 tablespoon of scallions on top. Cover the lid. Add 1 tablespoon of shaoxing wine around the lid. Serve!
