Eggplant (Aubergine) Slices in Black Bean Sauce Recipe

Ingredients :

500g Eggplant (aubergine) medium size 1/3 cup Cooking oil 4 cloves Garlic, finely chopped 4 cm Fresh ginger, grated 2 medium Onions, finely chopped 1/3 cup Chicken stock 2 teaspoons Canned black beans, rinsed well, roughly chopped 2 tablespoons Oyster sauce 1 tablespoon Soy sauce 2 teaspoons Fish sauce 4 Onions, sliced into long diagonal strips

Method : Slice the eggplant into long slices and lightly brush each side with oil. Heat a frying pan over moderately low heat; add the eggplant, 5 slices at a time, and cook until golden on both sides. Remove from the pan. Do not hurry this process as cooking the eggplant slowly allows the natural sugars to caramelize and produces a wonderful flavor. If the eggplant begins to burn, reduce the heat and sprinkle it with a little water. Increase the heat to moderately high and add any remaining oil, the garlic, ginger, onion and about 1 tablespoon of the chicken stock. Cover and cook for 3 minutes. Add the remaining stock, black beans, oyster sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce. Bring to the boil and cook for 2 minutes. Return the eggplant to the pan and simmer for 2 minutes or until it is heated through. Scatter over the spring onion and serve Note : Always rinse black beans very well before cooking as they are extremely salty. They will keep a long time if refrigerated after opening.