Project Sichuan #4 - Fish-Fragrant Eggplant, the sultry beauty of Sichuan simplicity
/One of the many wonders of Sichuan Cuisine is its appearance. Indeed, the way a dish looks is part of any Sichuan dining experience. So much of the enjoyment of the food begins before you even get chopsticks to mouth. Because properly cooked Sichuan cuisine is not just about the taste; it's also about the combination of colors, textures and overall allure. Which is why one of the most eye-appealing dishes found on a Sichuan table is Fish-Fragrant Eggplant (Yuxiang Qiezi). She’s a bit of a Cinderella-type recipe: a simple, slender eggplant fried and then wok-tossed with a ticklish sauce of sour and almost-sweet vinegariness. And she’s no poser; the beauty of this dish runs deep, from the warming, purple glow of her glistening skin to the very core of her deep, bright flavor. Little more is required to make this humble aubergine – so often overlooked as anything special – dance like a princess in your mouth.
Something that sets Sichuanese cuisine apart from so many others is the intentional layering of flavors in a single dish to create something harmoniously complex. And this dish showcases that phenomenon better than most. Sweet is blended with sour atop a building block of picked taste enhanced with the flowery citrus essence and a light mouth-numbing ma sensation from sichuan peppercorn. A mere hint of heat develops through chili paste fermented with fava bean. This also gives the dish a barely reddish tint that coats the eggplant, shiny and thick. The flavor combination of pickled chili, ginger, garlic, sugar and vinegar — lightly fried with scallions — turns the eggplant into something elegant and sumptuous. They penetrate the soft flesh and delicate seeds, and glaze the gorgeous purple skin with a luxurious shine that is hard to look away from. Resting among others on the table, this sultry eggplant dish becomes a complete showstopper.
It’s the Fish-Fragrant Flavor (yuxiang wei) that makes this dish so beloved. As one of those trademark Sichuan food signatures, you recognize it the moment you taste it. Distinctive from all other flavor profiles it is neither just spicy nor just warming nor just sweet and sour. Instead it is a melange of each of those, melding into something unusual and haunting. And despite its name, there is no fish involved in either the recipe or the flavor. The label merely represents a taste sensation that takes old-timers down memory lane to the days when fish was cooked with those same ingredients. At least that’s one theory; no one seems to know for sure.
But what everyone who takes their first bite of fish fragrant eggplant does know is the understated sensation of silk and elegance. It’s like the feeling of a thick fur comforter enveloping you on a cold night. The flesh of the warm fruit eases gently like custard, releasing juicy flavors as your teeth tear easily through the purple skin. Its rich, gently-nibbling sourness married to the soft, creamy texture is lavishly elegant and indescribably delicious. It elevates an otherwise blandish-yet-distinctive aubergine taste to a level that you’ll reach nowhere else, and reveals the simple delicacy of Sichuan cookery at its best. I’m not kidding: if you like eggplant – and even if you don’t – this dish will make your eyes roll back as you moan in epicurean ecstasy.
