Recipe - Eggplant Szechuan Style

6 Chinese eggplants (about 1
One half pounds)
1 tablespoon Soy sauce
1 tablespoon Sugar
One fourth cup Chicken stock
5 tablespoon Peanut or corn oil, or more
if needed
2 teaspoon Ginger, fresh; peeled &
grated
1 tablespoon Garlic; minced
One fourth teaspoon Dried red chile flakes
One fourth cup Water chestnut; peeled &
chopped (preferably fresh)
3 Scallion; trimmed & chopped
1 One half tablespoon Red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil
1 tablespoon Toasted sesame seeds, for
garnish

Everyone loves this dish, even those who don't particularly like egg plant.
The flavor virtually explodes with a lively combination of sweet, spicy,
tart and savory followed by the refreshing crunch of fresh water chestnuts.
Serve as a side dish or first course for Western menus.

Cut eggplant into 1/2inch wide by 2inch long strips.

Mix together soy sauce, sugar and chicken stock. Set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wide, flat skillet. When hot, add half
of the eggplant. Saute, stirring constantly until seared and wilted, about
5 minutes. Remove to a plate. Cook remaining eggplant, adding more oil if
needed. Transfer to plate. Set aside.

Heat a wok or skillet over mediumhigh heat. Add remaining 1 tablespoon
oil, the ginger, garlic and chile; cook gently but do not brown. Add water
chestnuts and half of the green onions; stirfry for 5 seconds. Increase
heat to high, add reserved soy sauce mixture and the eggplant. Toss quickly
over high heat until the sauce is reduced and absorbed into eggplant, 1 to
2 minutes. Fold in vinegar and sesame oil. Remove to a serving dish. Top
with remaining green onions and sesame seeds. Serve hot or cold.

From Gemini's MASSIVE MealMaster collection at www.synapse.com/~gemini