Chinese cuisine

Easy

Salted Fish and Eggplant in Claypot

The eggplants, chicken, and salted pork are braised in a combination of minced ginger, garlic, and oyster sauce. It then absorbs all the umami like a sponge.

Get Chef John’s Salted Fish recipe here.

Chef John Zhang

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Done

Recipe

PRE TIME: 15 min

COOKING TIME: 15 min

TOTAL TIME: 30 min

2 SERVING

Ingredients:

2 oz. Salted Fish, You Can Find This Fish In Asian Supermarkets
7 oz. Eggplant
3 oz. Chicken Breast, Boneless And Skinless
1 tbsp. Chef Made Peppercorn Oil (See ''Chef John Signature Oil'' Video)
2 tbsp. Shaoxing Wine
1 tbsp. Sliced Garlic
1 tbsp. Sliced Ginger
1 oz. Carrot, Sliced
1 stalk Green Onion, Cut Into 1-inch Sections
1 cup Water
1 tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 tbsp. Cornstarch Water (2 Tbsp Cornstarch Mixed With 1 Tbsp Water)
0.5 tbsp. Sesame Oil
Seasoning
0.5 tbsp. Oyster Sauce
0.5 tbsp. Sugar
0.25 tsp. White Pepper, A Pinch

Directions:

Step 1

Follow the directions in the notes to make salted fish if you prefer to make it yourself. You can get salted fish from your local Chinese market.

Step 2

Cut the salted fish and chicken breast into small cubic pieces.

Step 3

Cut eggplant into 4 pieces cylinders, then cut each cylinder into 6 strips.

Step 4

In a wok over high heat, bring enough cooking oil to 300-350°F (150-180°C), and deep-fry salted fish until golden. Then drain.

Step 5

Bring the same amount of cooking oil to 300-350°F (150-180°C) in the wok, and deep-fry eggplant until slightly golden. Remove from oil, then re-fry until golden. Set aside. (Re-fry here is to drive off excess oil from eggplant)

Step 6

In a wok, add chicken and a few drops of oil, stir-fry several times until fragrant. Then, add garlic slices, ginger slices, carrots, green onion, salted fish, a tablespoon of water, oyster, sugar, soy sauce, eggplants, and white pepper. Stir to cook for a minute. Add cornstarch water, sesame oil, and finely chopped green onion. Stir-fry to mix thoroughly. Serve immediately.

Step 7

Enjoy!

Final Notes

Ingredients and Direction to make salted fish: ➀Yellow croaker ➁Salt ➂Chinese hard liquor; Preparation: 1. Prink holes over the fish body, sprinkle salt and Chinese hard liquor all around the fish, 2. Hang and air dry for 15 days in cool and windy condition.