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Eggplant and Chinese Long Bean Stir Fry in spicy garlic sauce is a traditional home cooking in China. So appetizingly tasty, and a great way to enjoy these two nutritious vegetables. A perfect vegan dish that gives you this satisfying yumminess.
Both eggplant and Chinese long beans are must-haves for our backyard vegetable garden.
Eggplant and Long Bean Stir Fry Ingredients at-a-glance
For the Stir Fry sauce, you will need naturally aged soy sauce, light soy sauce, Zhenjiang vinegar, cane sugar {organic preferred}, minced garlic, as well as iconic ancient Chinese condiments Duo Jiao and DouBanJiang.
For mincing garlic, I usually use a compact food processor who does wonderful job prepping.
Eggplant Fun Facts
Eggplant is popular in many cuisines around the globe, especially common in Mediterranean and east Asian.
The plant blooms gorgeous purple flower with an orange center. The flower then develops into eggplant. For this reason, eggplant is technically a fruit.
While we encountered white eggplants in recent years, traditionally they all have a deep purple skin with white meat inside. As eggplant matures, they develop seeds. Needless to say, young tender eggplant without the seeds tastes much better.
Eggplant comes in different shapes, some look like a ball, others look like curved long tubes. Chinese eggplant belongs to the latter group, which is excellent for stir fry thanks to its tender thin skins and delicious meat.
Speaking of white eggplant, my husband spotted them years ago at a local nursery place and decided to give them a try. I have to say I am very impressed by their productivity. Traditional eggplant grows one eggplant from a stem at a time, white eggplant would grow multiple in bunches. They are smaller compared to the traditional purple eggplant.
Eggplant Nutrition and Health benefits
It is a no surprise to many people that eggplant is loaded with concentrated nutrients.
The fact that eggplant is high in fiber and low in calories makes them perfect for weight management.
Eggplant is also high in minerals such as Manganese, Folate and Potassium, as well as vitamins such as Vitamin K and vitamin C. In addition, eggplant is also rich in antioxidants. Because of all these, people believe eggplant may help with heart health, regulate blood sugar and prevent cancers.
Delicious Vegan Eggplant Recipes
These delicious vegan eggplant recipes are great ways to enjoy this superfood vegetables. Di San Xian {Eggplant, green pepper and tomato stir fry}, Yu Xiang Qie Zi {fish fragrant eggplant or stir fried eggplant in spicy garlic sauce}, and Steamed Eggplant.
What is Chinese Long Bean?
Called “Chang Jiang Dou” {长豇豆} in Chinese, it is a popular vegetable in China, especially in the Yangtze River Delta area, home to delicious Huai Yang Cuisine.
Also known as Yard long Bean or Snake Bean, Chinese Long Bean is an annual climber, like cucumber or bitter melon. They have dark green leaves and bloom small flowers. The long bean can grow very long, the reason people also call it yard-long beans or snake beans.
It worth mentioning that flowers can come in many colors, white, duckling yellow, or purple. We have grown them all. This year’s long bean happens to have duckling yellow flowers.
Chinese long bean is super productive. You will be amazed by how many long beans you will get out of one plant. I also noticed they have a much stronger bug resistance compared to cucumber.
Compared to green beans, Chinese long beans are more flavorful that gives you a satisfying firm bite texture. Young long beans have more dense structure and while are tender and delicious. As they mature, the skin became wrinkled, fibery as they grow the seeds inside the pods.
Therefore, Chinese long bean tastes the best when they are young and tender. If left on the vine, the skin ultimately dried out with only the beans left inside of the dry pods.
Chinese Long Bean Nutrition and Health Benefits
Interestingly enough, Chinese long bean contains lots of similar nutrients as eggplant. They are also rich in fiber, low in calories. Long Bean is high in minerals such as magnesium, folate, thiamine, as well as vitamins such as Vitamin C. Long bean also contains loads of antioxidant substances.
Because of the rich vitamin C content, people believe long bean can improve skin conditions toward anti-aging process, and help eliminate free radicals.
Folate is an extremely important mineral, people believe it can be linked to prevent cancer and improve heart health.
Magnesium is another essential mineral which helps reduce high blood pressure and improve sleep quality.
Thiamine plays a huge role in our digestive health. A healthy digestive systems no double helps enhance immunity.
How to make a perfect Eggplant and Long Bean Stir fry every time?
Tip No.1 is to coat eggplant and long beans with arrowroot flour before frying for perfectly tasty and healthy stir-fried Eggplant and Long Bean
Cut eggplant in long strips and then coat them with arrowroot flour before deep frying. This not only prevents eggplant from absorbing excess oil, but also helps eggplant form a tasty outer layer.
The key here is to do it conservatively. Just use enough arrowroot flour to barely coat the eggplant.
Eggplant strips coated with arrowroot flour 
Freshly fried eggplant strips
Do the same to Long Beans as well. Chop Long Beans into the similar length as the eggplant strips.
Long Bean Pieces Coated with Arrowroot Flour 
Freshly Fried Long Bean
Tip No.2 is to deep fry using Avocado Oil
Avocado oil is truly an amazing oil, loaded with impressive nutrients. It is rich in oleic acid, which is a monounsaturated omega-9 fatty acid contributing to heart health. It is also high in lutein, which is an antioxidant supporting eye health. Additionally, avocado oil facilitates the absorption of fat-soluble vitamins A, D, E and K. All these important vitamins need to be combined with fat in order for our body to absorb them. Avocado oil is by far one of the best “fat” your body can appreciate.
The fact that avocado oil is almost tasteless and colorless makes it a super versatile cooking oil. You can easily blend avocado oil into any dishes without even noticing it is there. Besides, avocado oil has the highest smoking point among oil, making it perfect for deep frying.
By the way, avocado oil is also super beneficial to skin and hair. It is one of the ingredients of my proven and tested anti-aging serum for face, eye, and neck.
Last but not least is to make a tasty stir-fry sauce using ancient, traditional Chinese condiments
Mix Naturally aged soy sauce, light soy sauce, Zhenjiang vinegar, cane sugar {organic preferred}, minced garlic, as well as iconic ancient Chinese condiments Duo Jiao and DouBanJiang together in a small bowl and use it as a stir fry sauce. They truly work like a magic together and create this extreme yumminess.
Eggplant and Long Bean Stir Fry {茄子长豇豆}
Eggplant and Chinese Long Bean Stir Fry in spicy garlic sauce is a traditional home cooking in China. So appetizingly tasty, and a great way to enjoy these two nutritious vegetables. A perfect vegan dish that gives you this satisfying yumminess.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chinese eggplant, about 2-3 eggplant
- 1 lb Chinese long bean, young and tender
- 2 tbsp arrowroot flour
- 10 slices of ginger, minced
- 1 stalk of green onion, finely chopped
- 1/2 tsp avocado oil, for stir fry {Additional 4 cups for deep fry}
For Stir Fry Sauce:
- 1/2 tbsp naturally aged soy sauce, , or Jiang You {酱油}. See notes.
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Zhenjiang Vinegar
- 2 tbsp cane sugar, organic perferred
- 1 tbsp arrowroot flour
- 1 tbsp minced garlic
- 1 tbsp Duo Jiao {Chopped pickled chili pepper}
- 1/2 tbsp Pi'Xian DouBanJiang {fermented beans with chili paste}
- 1/3 cup water
Instructions
Prep Work:
- Gather Ingredients.
- Chop green onion into small pieces. Mince ginger and garlic. I often use a compact food processor to help mince garlic.
- Wash and rinse eggplant well, trim the ends off. Cut eggplant into long strips.
- Add eggplant pieces into a mixing bowl, add 1 tbsp arrowroot flour and mix well using a pair of wooden spatulas. Use arrowroot flour conservatively, they should barely cover the Eggplant.
- Wash and rinse long bean well, trim the ends off. Cut long bean into segments, similar length to that of eggplant.
- Add Long Bean into a mixing bowl, add 1 tbsp arrowroot flour and mix well using a pair of wooden spatulas. Use arrowroot flour conservatively, they should barely cover the Long Bean.
Deep Fry Eggplant and Long Bean:
- Add 4 cups of avocado oil into the wok, turn the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes.
- Carefully add a small batch of coated eggplant strips into the wok, about half of the coated eggplant, just enough to cover the surface but not overcrowd the wok. Use a stainless steel skimmer to gently shake the eggplant to separate them.
- Fry for 2 minutes, flip the eggplant half way through for even cooking.
- Remove the eggplant from the wok using the stainless steel skimmer and place onto a plate. Repeat to fry the other half of the eggplant.
- Carefully add a small batch of coated long bean pieces into the wok, about half, just enough to cover the surface but not overcrowd the wok. Use a stainless steel skimmer to gently shake the long bean to separate them.
- Fry for 2 minutes, flip the long bean half way through for even cooking.
- Remove the long bean from the wok using the stainless steel skimmer and place onto a plate. Repeat to fry the other half of the long bean.
- Turn off the heat, cover the wok with a lid to avoid water splashing into the wok and let the oil cool down. Store the oil in a glass jar once they are cooled to room temperature. You can re-use them for other deep frying.
Stir Fry:
- Turn the heat to medium-high and heat a hard anodized fry pan for 1 minute. Spray 1/2 tsp canola oil using a homemade oil sprayer and then add minced ginger and chopped green onion. Quickly mix and fold for about 10 seconds or till fragrant.
- Add the fried eggplant and long bean, mix and fold for about 15 seconds.
- Pour the Stir Fry Sauce from the bowl over eggplant and long bean in a circula motion and then quickly fold and mix using a slotted turner. Remember to mix again the sauce right before adding to the pan, as arrowroot flour may settle in the bottom. Use a mini silicone spatula to scrape the bowl if needed.
- Immediately fold and mix well the sauce with eggplant, until the sauce starts to bubble and thicken, about 30 seconds.
- All done! Turn off the heat and serve hote. Enjoy a super delcious and satisfying vegan Eggplant and Long Bean dish.
Notes
- Avocado oil is my primary cooking oil. It is especially suitable for deep frying due to its impressively high smoking point. You can subsitute it with cooking oil of your choice.
- Naturally aged soy sauce is the traditional way of naturally brewed and aged soy sauce, called "Jiang You" {酱油} in Chinese. Dark vs. light soy sauce is a modern day Cantonese invention. You can generally subsitute Jiang You with dark soy sauce.
- Coat the eggplant and long bean right before you are ready to fry. Do not let them sit there for prolonged time. Juice from the vegetable may seep out, mix with the arrowroot flour and turn into a paste. Ideally we need the arrowroot flour stay dry so that they form a nice crispy coating.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 4 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 965Total Fat 29gSaturated Fat 8gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 15gCholesterol 78mgSodium 2246mgCarbohydrates 140gFiber 28gSugar 35gProtein 48g
Nutrition calculation is provided by Nutritionix to the best knowledge per ingredients description and isn't always accurate.
