The Three Cup Sauce

Three cup aubergine is a twist on the classic Taiwanese dish ‘three cup chicken (三杯雞)’ which features tender chicken pieces of cooked with the signature ‘three cup’ sauce, which is a balanced blend of soy sauce, sesame oil, and rice wine, along with aromatics like ginger and garlic. Three cup aubergine is a delicious vegetarian take on this popular classic.

Don’t skip the cornflour

Aubergine is notorious for absorbing a lot of oil when cooked. To stop it from soaking up too much oil, coat it in a thin layer of cornflour first. It also helps to produce nice crisp edges during deep frying.

Ingredients

2 aubergines, sliced into chunks or lengthwise strips
20 g + ½ teaspoon cornflour
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 slices ginger
5 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine
½ tablespoon dark soy sauce
1½ tablespoons light soy sauce
2 tablespoons sesame oil
½ teaspoon sugar
Spring onions, optional

Method

1. Coat aubergine chunks/strips evenly in a thin layer of cornflour.
2. Deep fry the aubergine for a few minutes until softened and golden. Drain excess oil. You’ll need to give it at least 5 minutes for the excess oil to come out as aubergine absorbs a lot of oil. I use a sieve and put it to the side, toss it gently every minute or so to release more oil.
3. Add ½ teaspoon cornflour into 4 tablespoons of water, then add the sesame oil, wine, sugar, dark and light soy sauce, mix everything together.
4. In a wok, heat the vegetable oil, ginger and garlic over medium heat. Let the aromatics infuse the oil for a couple minutes.
5. Turn up the heat and add the drained aubergine to the wok.
6. Add the sauce, and turn up the heat to rapidly reduce the sauce for a few minutes until it clings to the aubergine.
7. If using spring onions, throw them in now and fry another minute until it’s wilted.
8. Serve with steamed jasmine rice.

Did you try this recipe and how did it go? Share with me in the comments below 🙂

Janice xx

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