Fish Fragrant Aubergine

This is a recipe I got from the excellent Fuchsia Dunlop - land of plenty. If you are into Sichuan food I thoroughly recommend this book. I have tweaked a few bits to my liking. Enjoy.

2 x aubergines, regular i.e. non Asian ones are fine
1.5 x table spoons of Pixian Chilli Bean Paste
3 x table spoons minced ginger
3 x table spoons minced garlic
0.5 x cup of chicken stock
3 x teaspoons of white sugar
2 x teaspoons of light soy sauce
1.5 x teaspoons corn flour mixed with 1 x tablespoon of cold water
3 x teaspoons Chinese black rice vinegar
4 x spring onions
3 x teaspoons of sesame oil

1. Cut the aubergines lengthways in half and then half these lengthways again. Then cut into small slices about 1cm thick
2. Heat up a wok with vegetable oil until good and hot. It needs to be deep enough to fully submerge the aubergines
3. Deep fry for a few minutes in batches. Do not overcrowd the wok or the oil will cool down too much and the end result will be too greasy
4. Remove the aubergines from the oil and drain onto kitchen towel
5. Discard the frying oil or set aside for some other frying use
6. Clean the wok and put in 2 x table spoons of fresh vegetable oil. Heat to a medium heat and add the chilli bean paste and stir fry for 20 seconds
7. Add the ginger and garlic to the bean paste and fry for 10 seconds
8. Add the stock, sugar, soy sauce and mix
9. Add the aubergines back and simmer gently for a few minutes
10. Add the corn flour mixture and cook out for a minute
11. Stir in the vinegar, spring onions and sesame oil
12. Serve

A note about Chilli Bean Paste: there are a few different widely available varieties in London. Mainly, Lee Kum Kee which seems to be everywhere. Fuschia Dunlop advises that for the authentic Sichuan dish, you should use fava bean (broad bean) chili paste. The good stuff comes from the Pixian Chili Bean Factory. I searched for this in London's China town and found it in the small Chinese super market opposite Baozi Inn just off Charing Cross Road. More info from Fuchsia Dunlop.

Red and Hot

Like most Londoners, I am loving Sichuan food right now. There are a few to choose from in central from the swankier Bar Shu and Bar Shan in Soho, to the less glitzy, more cafe style of My Old Place (City) and Gourmet San (Bethnal Green).

I was taken to Red and Hot a couple of times by a friend who grew up in China and have become a huge fan of this place. It's the best Sichuan place I've ever been to. The food is fantastic, but equally as important, their menu is very extensive and fully translated into English. It is very annoying to see plates of steaming dumplings and endlessly appetising dishes pass your table onto those of Chinese diners "in the know" whilst the English only menu offers uninspiring Anglo-Chinese dishes and only a few authentic Sichuan examples.  Full marks to Red and Hot for inclusivity.

For eats, we had:

A cold appetiser of "Mouth watering Sichuan Chicken with Lip Tingling Spicy Sauce (£7.80)". Cold appetisers took a bit to get used to but now I love them. The sauce is fiery and addictive, laden with numbing Sichuan pepper and sesame oil.

Onto one of the Sichuan classics and a firm favourite of PJ and mine, "Aubergine in Fish Flavoured Sauce £7.80". If you haven't had this before, don't let the strange name put you off. Fish Flavoured is just a staple set of ingredients normally used for flavouring fish. The frying of the aubergines makes them buttery on the inside and the morsels melt into a sweet, tangy and delicious mouthful. It is insanely good with rice. You will soon find yourself fighting over this dish with your fellow diners. This is my favourite version in London.

"Dry Stewed Sea Bass in Soya Bean Paste (£14.80)". A bit of a splurge on price admittedly but deep fried fish with sweet and beany sauce gets me going. Frying the fish keeps the flesh moist and delicate. It was a nice balance against the spicy chicken.

A final dish from the "Snack" menu. "Chengdu Dan Dan Noodles (£3.80)". I've never had Dan Dan noodles from Chengdu admittedly, but coming from the capital of Sichuan province, I expected these to be uber fiery, which they weren't. The noddles themselves were perfectly cooked though.

I thoroughly recommend Red and Hot and I will be going back again and again. The menu is so extensive I feel I could never get bored here.

Monster Munch Rating: 90%

Red and Hot
59 Charing Cross Road
London
WC2H 0NE
0207 734 8796

www.rednhotgroup.com

My Old Place

I was talking about the Bethnal Green Road and how there are some great little places to eat there, when someone mentioned the sister restaurant of Gourmet San , My Old Place. More conveniently located near Liverpool St tube, I headed on over for a low stress Friday night dinner.

Since I hadn't been here before, I had to try some classics.

Potato slivers with Sichuan pepper. I am not really sure how they do this dish. Presumably the potato is blanched quickly. Anyways, it's served cold and is refreshing, crunchy and tingly with Sichuan Peppercorns. It is a little sweeter than the version at Ba Shan which I think has the edge



Fish fragrant aubergine is a real favourite of mine. I first had it in China so generally have high expectations of this one. Soft and gooey, sweet and sour. Great over sticky rice. This version was decent althouh omitted the usual ground pork. (My favourite version of this dish is at Red and Hot in Soho).



Chicken with Sichuan Chili is again a classic. This version was actually the best I have ever tasted. The chicken was wonderful seasoned and smokey. The chicken is normally served on the bone but this dish didn't suffer from any lack of flavour for not being so. Recommended.



I also couldn't resist a couple of their BBQ lamb skewers. The ones in Gourmet San are cooked over open charcoal. I wasn't sure if these were, as they tasted less smokey and BBQ'ed. They were still good though. Juicy and spiced with cumin powder. One day I would like to go in, order ten of these and 5 beers. That sounds like a great Friday night to me.



Overall I was impressed with My Old Place. It is bigger than Gourmet San and we didn't have to queue which was great. The food here is very authentic Sichuan fare and good value. Most main dishes are about £8 and portions are large as you can see. It is also easy to find. Just follow the streams of Chinese people coming up the road with little doggy bags. One gripe I do have is the presence of a Chinese only menu. Why do they always want to keep the good stuff to themselves? Boo.

Monster Munch Rating: 75%

My Old Place
88 Middlesex Street
London
E1 7EZ

0207 247 2200

Sichuan Restaurant - Acton

Haven eaten in my fair share of Chinese restaurants/cafes in London, I have become increasing fascinated with the wonderful food from Sichuan province. People are becoming more familiar with these regional dishes now, thanks in part to places like Bar Shu and Bar Shan in Soho who have helped make the food more accessible and, dare I say it, trendy.

After reading about, and salivating over the photos of, the Sichuan Restaurant in Acton on the great blog, Tamarind and Thyme, I made it my mission one Friday night to go and try it. It is a little tricky to get to, I would suggest getting the tube to Acton Central (Picadilly Line) and walking (10 minutes).

Service was warm and friendly but I was surprised to only see one other table with diners on (cue a sense of apprehension and dread). After being seated, I was comforted by the fact there were two menus, one with "SiChuan Style Dishes" and another thick book which looked like it was more a mix of Cantonese and the usual Chinese food fare. The waitress seemed confused that I wanted to order off the Sichuan menu and ignore the other one, but I was here for Sichuan food and stuck to my guns.

We pigged out and started with "Sweat and Sour Eggplant Dragon (£9.80)". Wow. This is a whole aubergine, with slits in the top like a hassleback potato, deep fried and served in a sticky, rich sweet and sour sauce with minced pork and spring onion. This is not the luminous orange stuff you get in naff Chinese takeaways all around the country, but a perfect balance of pungent vinegar, chili heat and sticky, unctuous sweetness. Amazing. [we agreed we would only eat half of this dish since it is so bad for you. We ended up eating it all...] (sorry about this photo, take a look at this to really appreciate it, link)

"Corn with Salted Egg Yolk (£6.80)" - crispy, fried, salty, tasty. I was surprised at how good this dish was. Different and delicious, get it.

"Spicey Three Pepper with Fish (£12.80)" -Subtle and tasty, I was glad they used a stronger tasting oily fish here, although I would have liked a bit more heat.

"Steamed Meat and Vegetable Dumplings (£6.80)" - served with black vinegar. Very fresh, full of porky flavour, a good dumpling. Just a touch under those at Bar Shan (which are amazing with the spicey sauce) due to being a bit salty.

"Dan Dan Noodles (£5.80)" - a Sichuan staple. Lip tingingly zingy with Sichuan pepper, sesame paste/oil, fresh noodles, topped with the usual minced pork and spring onions. Delicious.

There was so much more on the menu that I wanted to eat and I will definitely be back (Beijing noodles, which remind me of a trip to Beijing back in 2008, spicey and sour potato threadlike, heart of cabbage with shrimp, crab fried with egg yolk, chili fried lamb etc etc). The menu is great.

One of key things to note, according to my gf, is that their tea uses filtered water. You can apparently tell due to the lack of a ring of scum which you can sometimes get forming around the top edge of the cup. I am told this is the mark of a good, cleanly Chinese restaurant.

I absolutely loved this place. It is a bit of hike outside of central London, but good things are worth traveling for. Our bill came to about £52, but easily could have fed four people. I had to be rolled back home after. This place is very good value for money. Go here if you want a truly authentic Sichuanese feast (and who doesn't want that?).

Monster Munch Rating: 91%

Sichuan Restaurant
116 Churchfield Road
Acton
London
W3 6BY
0208 992 9473