Savory and aromatic with a rich wok hei, this is a perfect dish to serve with rice.
While plain vegetables can be disappointing, Di San Xian (Three Fresh Vegetables) is a vegetarian dish that gains a touch of richness by first deep-frying the vegetables and then braising them—a perfect example of how Chinese cooking finds joy in oil!
Ingredients
Main Ingredients
250 g (about 1/2 lb) potatoes
250 g (about 1/2 lb) eggplant
150 g green bell peppers (about 1 medium pepper)
Either long or round eggplant works, and you can leave the skin on if you prefer. Use thick-fleshed green bell peppers.
Seasonings
15 g (about 1 tablespoon) soy sauce
5 g (about 1 teaspoon) sugar
1 g salt
Scallions and garlic, each to taste
cornstarch, to taste
Instructions
Instructions
Preparation
① Step 1: Peel the potatoes and eggplant, then cut them evenly into rolling-cut chunks (Image 2). Tear the green bell peppers into small pieces, chop the scallions into small pieces, and lightly crush the garlic cloves with the flat side of a knife (Image 3).
Deep-fry the potato and eggplant pieces until golden brown and cooked through.
② Heat a wok over high heat, add plenty of oil and heat until it reaches about 80% hot (when it starts to shimmer). Add the potato pieces and deep-fry over high heat until golden brown on the surface, then remove and drain. Next, deep-fry the eggplant pieces in the same oil until golden brown, then remove and set aside (Image 4).
*The oil temperature for deep-frying the potatoes and eggplant must be high, otherwise they will absorb too much oil. Eggplant naturally soaks up more oil than other vegetables, so after frying, gently press the eggplant to squeeze out some of the excess oil—just be careful not to press too hard or it will turn mushy.
Stir-fry the eggplant, potato, and green bell pepper in hot oil until the eggplant is tender and the potato is golden brown, then combine with a savory sauce of soy sauce, sugar, and garlic until everything is well-coated and fragrant.
Pour out the oil from the wok, leaving just a thin layer. First, stir-fry the green peppers, scallions, and garlic over high heat, then immediately add soy sauce and let it sizzle to release the aroma (Figure 5).
*Because the potatoes and eggplant are already deep-fried, only leave a tiny bit of oil in the pan when stir-frying the bell peppers—definitely don't add too much.
*Green bell peppers must be stir-fried first to remove their raw, harsh flavor; if you don't mind extra oil, you can also quickly blanch them in the oil after deep-frying the eggplant.
*In this dish, flash-frying the soy sauce over high heat is crucial—if the heat and oil temperature aren't high enough, the soy sauce won't release its full aroma, and the flavor will fall short.
Heat oil in a wok over medium-high heat, add the potato pieces and fry until golden brown and cooked through, then remove and drain. Add the eggplant pieces and fry until soft and slightly golden, then remove and drain. Leave about 1 tablespoon of oil in the wok, add the green bell pepper pieces and stir-fry for about 30 seconds, then add the fried potatoes and eggplant back to the wok. Stir in minced garlic, soy sauce, sugar, and a little water, toss everything together over high heat until the sauce thickens and coats the vegetables evenly, then serve immediately.
Pour in some water, then add salt and sugar and bring to a boil (Image 6). Add the potatoes and eggplant to the pot and cook over high heat for 1 minute (Image 7). Thicken with a cornstarch slurry, then remove from the pan and serve (Image 8).
*Do not cook for too long, otherwise the green peppers will turn yellow and the eggplant will become mushy, completely ruining the dish's appearance. The cornstarch slurry is mainly used to enhance the flavor.
*Make sure there is enough sauce; otherwise, the cornstarch slurry won't coat the ingredients evenly, affecting the overall flavor.
