The Best Chinese Eggplant Recipe (Di San Xian AKA Three Treasures From the Ground)
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Servings
3
Prep Time
20 minutes
Cook Time
35 minutes
Di San Xian, also known as "three treasures from the ground," is a classic northern Chinese dish made of crispy potatoes, soft eggplants, and fresh peppers, and then tossed in a lushes sauce.
Although these are the most common vegetables in any market, and the cooking method is rustic, this dish always brings out my fondest memory from my childhood. My mom will cook extra rice whenever she makes this dish because this recipe increases your appetite.
Author:
Ingredients
- 300g / 10.6 oz of of potatoes
- 960g / 4 cups of water to cook the potatoes
- 1 tbsp of soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1 tsp of dark soy sauce
- ½ tsp of ground white pepper
- 1 tbsp of potato starch to thicken the sauce
- ¾ cup of water
- 2 tbsp of cornstarch to coat the potato
- ½ cup of oil to shallow fry
- 300g / 10.6 oz of eggplant
- 3 tbsp of cornstarch to coat the eggplant
- 57g / 2oz of green chili pepper
- 57g / 2oz of red bell pepper
- 1 tbsp of diced garlic
- 2 tbsp of the diced white part of the scallions
- 2 tsp of Chinese black vinegar to add at the end
Directions
Peel and cut the potatoes into bite-size pieces. Add the potatoes and water to a pot. Turn the heat to medium and cook for 15-18 minutes or until the potatoes are fork-tender. Don’t overcook because the potatoes will be deep-fried further.
- While waiting, combine the soy sauce, oyster sauce, dark soy sauce, and white pepper in a bowl. Mix thoroughly and set it aside.
- Combine 1 Tbsp cornstarch and ¾ cup water in a separate bowl and mix until no lumps remain. Set it aside.
- Remove the cooked potatoes from the water and mix with 3 Tbsps cornstarch in a bowl until coated well.
- Heat the oil in a wok to 360℉ / 182℃ and add the coated potatoes. Shallow-fry them until golden and crispy, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove and set aside.
- Use the roll-cutting technique to cut the eggplants into a size slightly bigger than the potatoes because eggplant shrinks after cooking.
- Add the eggplant to a big bowl. Use a spray bottle to spray some water to wet the surface of the eggplant. Sprinkle 3 Tbsps cornstarch in batches and toss thoroughly until the eggplant is coated well.
- Increase the oil’s temperature to 380℉ / 193℃ and then add the eggplant skin-side down. This retains the purple color.
- Shallow-fry the eggplant until crispy, about 1 minute per side, and then remove and set it aside.
- Keep the oil at 380℉ / 193℃, add the green and red pepper, and stir for 10 seconds. Remove and set it aside.
- Pour most of the oil out but leave 1.5 Tbsps in the wok. Add the diced garlic and the white part of the scallions, and sauté for 1 minute.
- Pour in the seasoning sauce and stir over low heat for 1 minute. Pour in the cornstarch water and continue to stir until thickened.
- Add the fried potato, eggplant, and pepper to the wok. Drizzle in 2 tsps Chinese black vinegar and mix well. Serve with white rice.
