Braised Catfish with Eggplant

Braised Catfish with Eggplant

　　Cuisine: Northeastern Chinese cuisine

Ingredients: Two catfish weighing 1500g in total (purchasing tip: dark-colored ones are farmed; those with pale green bodies and yellow bellies are wild-caught). Clean after slaughtering; 2000g of purple long eggplants (adjust quantity based on number of people); 50g of scallion segments; 50g of smashed garlic cloves; 30g of shredded ginger; 10g of Sichuan peppercorn powder; 20g of soy sauce; 10g of cooking wine; 10g of salt; 10g of monosodium glutamate; 15g of sugar; 100g of soybean oil; 50g of soybean paste (now available in packaged form, Xu's brand or similar must be used — otherwise the flavor will be off)

Cooking Method:

1. Heat the pan, add oil, then when hot, put in the scallion segments, smashed garlic cloves, and shredded ginger. Stir-fry until fragrant, then add soy sauce, soybean paste, Sichuan peppercorn powder, and sugar. After sautéing, add water and place the eggplants and catfish in the pan. (The amount of water should be enough to just cover the eggplants.)

2. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce to low heat and simmer for 40 minutes. Turn up the heat to reduce the sauce, add monosodium glutamate, then serve and plate.