Szechuan Spicy Eggplant - Fish Fragrant

Szechuan or Sichuan cuisine is famous for its multi flavours and is distinguished by its undeniable spiciness and numbing sensation on the tongue. Diverse and complex flavours are created on the basis of sweet, salty, sour, pungent, numbing, and bitter flavours. The fish-fragrant flavour high is characterized by a combination of salty, sweet, sour and pungent fragrance and highlighted in the dish "Szechuan Spicy Eggplant", literally translated to "Fish-Fragrant Eggplant".

	Sauce
500 g Eggplants Some oil 15 g Ginger, minced 15 g Garlic, minced 2 stalk Spring onions, shredded 100 g Pork, thinly shredded 2 tbsp Hot bean sauce 2 Pepperocini, shredded	1/2 tbsp Fish sauce 1/2 tsp Dark soya sauce 2 g Chicken bouillon 2 tsp Sugar 1/3 tsp Salt 10 g Sherry wine (preferable Chinese rice wine) 15 g Black vinegar (rice or wine) 1 tbsp Starch solution

1. Peel the eggplants and cut into one centimeter thick strips. Marinate shredded pork with a bit of salt and cornstarch. Combine all the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl. Heat up a skillet with enough oil until hot and fry the eggplants until softened.
   
   
2. Pour off all but one tablespoon of oil. Add in hot bean paste, ginger, garlic and half of spring onions, stir briefly, and stir in pork. As soon as they have separated, return the eggplants and stir in pickled pepperoni. Pour the sauce over and cook until the sauce is reduced by half. Sprinkle in the rest of spring onions and serve.