Chinese Eggplant with Yuxiang Sauce (蒸茄子)

Start by slicing off the ends of the eggplant (1 pound). Peel off some of the skin, but not all. If you remove all of the skin, the eggplant will get too soft and soggy during cooking. Next, cut the eggplant into quarters. Slice down the center the long way, then halve again. You should have four slices per eggplant. Remove the core and seeds.

Fill a large mixing bowl with cold water and pour in the rice vinegar (2 teaspoon). Add the eggplant and allow it to soak as your prep the rest of the ingredients. This will help remove some of the vegetable's natural bitterness.

Dice half a red bell pepper (0.50 ). Cut the pepper in half (you can save the remaining half for other dishes!), then slice into thin strips. Rotate the strips, then cut into small squares.

Cut the scallions (2 stalk) to roughly the same size, reserving the green parts for garnish. Mince the ginger (0.50 oz), then cut the chilies (2 ) to roughly the same size as the scallions. You can add more if you prefer more spice. Finally, mince the garlic (3 clove).

Mince the pork (4 oz). Cut the piece of meat into long pieces about a 1/4-inch thick. Rotate the strips 90 degrees and roughly chop until the meat is finely minced. You can also use ground pork.

Place the minced pork in a bowl and move it to one side. Add the cornstarch (1 tablespoon), water (2 tablespoon), and light soy sauce (2 teaspoon). Stir the marinade ingredients together first to thoroughly combine before mixing it with the pork. This will ensure that there are no clumps. Doing it this way in one bowl will also save you a dish!

To make vegetarian: Substitute with mushrooms or a plant-based meat of your choice.

In a separate bowl, mix together the light soy sauce (2 tablespoon), oyster sauce (1 tablespoon), dark soy sauce (2 teaspoon), rice vinegar (1 tablespoon), and water (4 tablespoon). Taste and adjust the sweetness and tartness levels according to your preference.

Use a small bowl to make the slurry. Stir together the cornstarch (1 teaspoon) and the water (1 tablespoon), then set aside.

Remove the eggplant from the water and squeeze out any excess liquid. Cut the eggplant into 1/2-inch pieces. My dad likes to slice them at an angle. Place on the plate you plan to steam them in. Set aside.

Bring water to a boil in your steaming vessel of choice outfitted with a steaming rack. Once boiling, place the plate of eggplant on top of the rack and steam on high heat for 12 minutes.

Once done, remove the eggplant and pour out any excess liquid.

Set a wok over high heat. Once hot, add in the cooking oil (2 tablespoon). My dad uses vegetable oil in this recipe. Once the oil begins to smoke, add in the marinated pork and spread it out into a patty. Let it brown and fry for about 45 seconds before flipping the pork.

Add the chilies, garlic, ginger, and scallion whites. Stir fry all the ingredients together for 2 minutes. Turn off the heat and continue to stir fry, breaking the pork up into pieces.

Turn the heat back on to medium. Add the cooking wine (1 teaspoon) and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the sauce mixture, followed by the red bell peppers and stir fry for 2 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon of water if stir fry looks dry.

Give the slurry a quick stir, lower the heat, then slowly add it to the wok as your mix the pork. Turn off the heat and add the sesame oil (1 teaspoon).

Pour the stir-fried meat sauce evenly over the steamed eggplant, then garnish the the scallions greens.