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Mapo Eggplant

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(1)

Mapo eggplant with scallions in a bowl.
Photo by Yudi Ela Echevarria

There are very few things that mapo sauce doesn’t enhance, and eggplant is no exception. This recipe swaps out the traditional tofu for eggplant, which has a similar soft texture but absorbs the rich flavors of the sauce even more. I include ground pork in this recipe, but the doubanjiang adds so much umami that you won’t miss anything without the meat.

Serve the mapo eggplant hot over rice or as a topping over noodles. Leftover chili crisp can be kept in your fridge for up to a year.

This recipe was excerpted from ‘The Book of Sichuan Chili Crisp' by Jing Gao. Buy the full book on Amazon.

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