Ingredients
300 g (about 10 oz) long eggplant, 3 eggs.
Seasonings
100 g (about 3.5 oz) high-quality starch, a small amount each of minced scallion, ginger, and garlic, 50 g (about 1.75 oz) pickled chili peppers, 1 tablespoon each of Shaoxing wine, sugar, vinegar, and Pixian broad bean paste, 1 teaspoon soy sauce, and salt and chicken bouillon powder to taste.
Instructions
1. Mix the eggs with cornstarch to form a batter; peel the eggplant, trim off both ends, and cut into 2 cm wide by 5 cm long strips; finely chop the pickled chili peppers into a paste.
2. Heat a wok over high heat and add oil, heating it to 350°F (about 175°C). One by one, coat the eggplant strips in the egg batter and fry them in the oil until set, removing each batch as they finish. Once all are fried, reheat the oil to 400°F (about 200°C) and fry the eggplant strips a second time until the skin is crispy and golden brown. Remove, drain the oil, and set aside.
3. Heat oil in a wok, add pickled chili paste and stir-fry until fragrant and the oil turns red, then add scallions, ginger, and garlic and stir-fry until aromatic, add a small amount of water along with chicken powder, soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and salt to create the Yu Xiang (fish-fragrant) flavor, thicken with a cornstarch slurry, remove from heat, and pour the sauce over the eggplant strips.