Ingredients
300 g (about 10 oz) long eggplant
Seasonings
40 g lard, 35 g soy sauce, 3 g salt, 2 red chili peppers, 3 cloves garlic, 15 g each sugar and wet cornstarch slurry, 2 g MSG, pepper, scallion, ginger, and cooking wine to taste, 5 g vinegar.
Instructions
1. Julienne the chili peppers, garlic, scallions, and ginger. In a bowl, combine sugar, vinegar, cooking wine, MSG (or chicken powder), white pepper, and a cornstarch slurry, then set aside. Remove the stem from the eggplant, wash it, and split it in half lengthwise. On each half, make diagonal cuts at 2-minute intervals, cutting two-thirds of the way through without severing (a crisscross or "waffle" cut).
2. Place a wok over high heat; when hot, add 25 g (about 2 tablespoons) lard. Once the oil is hot, add the eggplant and pan-fry until one side is lightly golden, then flip and add another 15 g (about 1 tablespoon) lard. After the eggplant is fried, add scallions, ginger, and garlic, and fry together until fragrant. Then add soy sauce, salt, and enough hot water to cover, cover the wok, and cook until tender. Finally, pour in the mixed sauce.
3. When the sauce in the pot has thickened and reduced, remove the pot from the heat, carefully transfer the whole eggplant to a serving plate with the skin side facing up, then pour the sauce over the eggplant. This dish is tender, soft, and richly flavorful.