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How to Make Di San Xian

Estimated Cooking Difficulty: ★★★

Essential Ingredients and Tools

  • Eggplant
  • Potato
  • Green Chili Pepper
  • Scallion (Green Onion)
  • Ginger
  • Garlic
  • Doubanjiang (Broad Bean Paste)
  • Light Soy Sauce
  • Sugar
  • Cornstarch

Quantities

Note: This recipe yields enough for 2-4 people.

  • Eggplant: 200g
  • Potato: 150g
  • Green Chili Peppers: 3-4 pieces
  • Cornstarch: 8g

Using the above quantities, calculate the proportion of raw materials to be used.

Instructions

Preparing Ingredients

  • Wash the potatoes, eggplants, and green chili peppers.
  • Peel the potatoes.
  • Cut both the eggplants and potatoes into irregular small chunks of approximately 15g.
  • Tear the green chili peppers by hand along their natural lines into pieces that are about 25% larger than the potato and eggplant chunks.
  • Remove as much surface moisture from the green chili peppers as possible to prevent splattering during frying. Consider using paper towels or air-drying them for half an hour.
  • Cut the scallions into 0.5cm segments, taking a total of 5g. Mince the garlic to obtain 15g of garlic paste, dividing it into two equal portions of 7.5g each. Mince the ginger to obtain 5g.
  • Take an empty bowl and add 10ml of light soy sauce, 10g of sugar, and 8g of cornstarch. Add 80ml of water and stir thoroughly to create a sauce mixture. Set aside.

Initial Frying

  • Heat a wok and add 150ml of oil.
  • Add the potatoes and fry for about 3-4 minutes until golden brown and easily pierced with chopsticks.
  • Remove the potatoes and leave the oil in the wok.
  • Add the eggplant and fry for about 2-3 minutes until about 70% cooked. It is ready when the eggplant softens, the edges turn slightly browned, and excess oil is released.
  • Remove the eggplant and leave the oil in the wok. (Note: There may be no oil left.)
  • If there is no visible oil left in the wok, consider adding 15ml of fresh oil.
  • Add the green chili pepper chunks and fry for about 15 seconds until the edges develop a blistered "tiger skin" texture. Immediately remove them and discard the oil from the wok.

Final Stir-fry

  • Reheat the wok and add 15ml of fresh oil.
  • Add 5g of scallions, 5g of ginger, and 7.5g of garlic. Stir-fry over medium-low heat until fragrant.
  • Add 15ml of Doubanjiang. Reduce heat to low and stir-fry until red oil and the aroma of the paste are released.
  • Pour in the prepared sauce mixture. Immediately increase heat to high and stir vigorously to prevent sticking and burning. After about 10 seconds, the sauce will begin to bubble and thicken.
  • Immediately add all the previously fried potatoes, eggplants, and green chili peppers.
  • Stir-fry for 20 seconds to ensure the thick sauce coats the ingredients evenly.
  • Turn off the heat, sprinkle in the remaining 7.5g of garlic, and toss to combine evenly. Serve on a plate.

Additional Notes

  • It is reasonable for the sugar quantity to exceed the cornstarch quantity. The cornstarch here does not provide flavor; it acts solely as a physical thickening agent.
  • After frying, the volume of the eggplant will reduce by about four times. You may notice that a large amount of eggplant goes into the wok but a small amount comes out. This is normal.
  • When the green chili peppers hit the hot oil, a significant amount of moisture may be released instantly, causing oil to splatter. Always use a pot lid as a shield to protect yourself when adding them to the wok.

If you encounter any issues or have suggestions for process improvements while following the workflow in this guide, please submit an Issue or Pull Request.