Main Ingredients:
Eggplant: 1; Potato: 1; Green Pepper: 1; Red Chili Pepper: 1; Spring Onion: a small amount; Garlic: 3 cloves.
Seasonings:
Light Soy Sauce: 2 tablespoons; Dark Soy Sauce: 1 tablespoon; Sugar: 1 tablespoon; Vinegar: 1 tablespoon; Cooking Wine: 2 tablespoons; Maggi Seasoning Sauce: 1 tablespoon; Salt: to taste; Five Spice Powder: to taste; Cornstarch: to taste.
Taste: Salty and savory; Cooking Method: Stir-fry; Time: 30 minutes; Difficulty: Moderate.
Detailed Steps for Cooking Di San Xian
Prepare the ingredients. I added a red chili pepper, but you can omit it if you don’t like spicy food.
Cut the green and red peppers into chunks, slice the garlic, and chop some spring onions for later use.
Peel the potato and cut it into large chunks.
Soak the potato chunks in water to remove excess starch and prevent them from turning black due to oxidation.
Cut the eggplant into chunks as well.
Moisten the cut eggplant with a little water, then sprinkle four tablespoons of cornstarch and mix well. Adjust the amount of cornstarch based on the quantity of eggplant to ensure each piece is coated with cornstarch.
Prepare the sauce: Mix one tablespoon of cornstarch with three tablespoons of water to make a slurry. Then add two tablespoons of light soy sauce, one tablespoon of dark soy sauce, one tablespoon of sugar, one tablespoon of vinegar, one tablespoon of Maggi seasoning sauce, and a little salt. Stir well.
Heat a generous amount of oil in a pan. Drain the water from the potato chunks and fry them in the hot oil. Starting with cold oil and a cold pan ensures the potatoes cook through inside without burning outside. If you fry them in hot oil, the inside may remain uncooked while the outside burns.
Fry until the surface of the potatoes turns golden brown, then remove and drain excess oil. They should have a beautiful color and be cooked through inside.
Fry the eggplant in the hot oil until the surface turns golden brown. It’s important to fry the eggplant in hot oil to prevent it from becoming mushy.
Once again, remove and drain excess oil after frying the eggplant.
In a separate pan, heat a small amount of oil and sauté the spring onions and garlic until fragrant. Add the green and red peppers, a splash of cooking wine, and five spice powder. Stir-fry until slightly cooked, then pour in the prepared sauce.
Once the sauce thickens, add the eggplant and potato, quickly stir-fry until everything is coated in the sauce, then remove from the heat. Overcooking will make the eggplant mushy, so be quick.
The finished dish, with a perfect balance of color, aroma, and taste.
