Crispy Aubergines with Szechuan Meat Sauce

Cut aubergines into long strips, about 1/2 inch (1 cm) thick and 3 inches (8 cm) long. Line a big tray with paper towels and spread aubergines on top without overlapping. Sprinkle salt onto aubergines and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes. (*footnote 2)

Combine pork, light soy sauce, and Shaoxing wine in a small bowl. Mix well and let marinate for 15 minutes.

Combine light soy sauce, black vinegar, Shaoxing wine, sugar, salt, and 1/4 cup water in a bowl (do not add potato starch). Mix well. In another small bowl, add 2 teaspoons potato starch and 2 tablespoons water to make a slurry.

Heat enough oil for frying in a deep pan over high heat until it reaches 350 degrees F (180 C).

While heating the oil, use paper towels to pat the aubergines dry. (*footnote 3)

Transfer the aubergines to a large bowl. Add 1/3 cup potato starch. Toss aubergines to coat evenly with potato starch.

Place a large strainer on top of a big bowl. Line another big plate with paper towels.

Fry aubergines in small batches without overcrowding the pan (I fried them in 5 batches by using a flat bottom wok). Keep the oil temperature at 320 degrees F (160 C) during the frying process. (* see footnote 4) Fry the aubergines until the surface turns golden brown. Flip once to get both sides fried evenly. It should take about 2 minutes to fry each batch, and the aubergines shouldn’t shrink too much after frying. If it takes much longer than 2 minutes to fry a batch, it means your oil temperature is not high enough.

Transfer the cooked aubergines to the strainer and continue to fry the next batch. When the next batch is done, transfer the aubergines from the strainer to the plate with paper towel. Place the newly fried aubergines onto the strainer. Continue this until all the aubergines is cooked. (*see footnote 5)

Transfer 2 tablespoons frying oil to a large frying pan and heat over medium high heat. Add spring onions, garlic, and ginger. Stir a few times until fragrant.

Add jalapeno. Stir and cook for a minute. Move all the ingredients to one side of the frying pan.

Add pork to the other side of the frying pan. Stir and cook until the surface turns white.

Mix the pork with the rest ingredients. Cook until the pork is almost cooked through.

Mix the sauce again and add it into the frying pan. Cook until the sauce begins to boil. Let cook for 1 minutes to thicken. Turn off heat. Stir the potato slurry again. Slowly add it to the frying pan to thicken the sauce. If you don’t want the sauce to be too thick, you might not need to add all the slurry.

Transfer aubergines to a serving plate. Right before serving, pour the meat sauce onto the aubergines.

Serve immediately with steamed rice.