Have you ever wonder how to make a dish in one of those vintage ceramic pots? Well, I have a treat for you ! One of the most popular ceramic pot dishes you can order at a Chinese restaurant is an oyster and eggplant stir fry and I can show you how to make it.

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SECRET INGREDIENT?

Let me tell you a secret …. the reason many Chinese dishes taste so good is because of this oyster sauce. ( You might already know that) Alright. Fine. the actual secret ingredient to this dish besides the oyster sauce is the Lee Kum Kee Chili Bean Sauce. This adds the extra touch and spice to the flavours. This is also the reason why many of our recipes doesn’t involve a lot of salt because we like to make use of these great sauces. A great sauce is a requirement when it comes to Chinese dishes.

INGREDIENTS:

16 oz. oysters (one container)
2 eggplants (460g)
½ carrot
1 onion
2 green onions
5 or 6 slices of ginger
1 tbsp cornstarch
Extra cornstarch ( to clean oyster )
1 shallot
8- 10 cloves of garlic
1 tbsp sesame oil

SAUCE INGREDIENTS:

2 tbsp oyster sauce
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp chili bean sauce

WHY CERAMIC POT?

Ceramic pot helps with keeping in the heat for longer so your dish is delicious and hot 🙂 . Sometimes recipes taste so much better when it’s boiling HOT !

INSTRUCTIONS

First, use cornstarch to clean up the oysters. To do this, add the cornstarch to the oysters and make sure to scrap the black bits on the edge of each oyster. Next, on running water clean the oysters by rubbing it with your fingers. Repeat this step once.

Then, boil water in a dedicated steam pot ( A wok with a metal rack works just fine ). Cut the eggplants into thick slices. Put it into the pot for about 5 minutes and put it on the side.

Cut the green onions into 1 inch pieces. Cut the onions, shallots, ginger and carrots into slices. Peel the garlic.

Put 2 tbsp of oil with slow heat to fry the garlic until it becomes golden color. Put aside the garlic and do not throw away the oil.

In another bowl, mix oyster sauce, sugar, bean paste and 4 tbsp of water evenly ( or chicken soup). Put aside.

Boil a small pot of water to rinse the oysters for about 5 seconds each. Dry them up with a paper towel thoroughly and put cornstarch on both sides of the oyster.

Use the previous set aside garlic oil, on a wok place the ginger and shallots on low heat until aroma flavours come out. Turn to medium heat and place the oyster in the wok until both sides turn golden brown. Put them aside.

Place the ceramic on the stove.

Put 1 tbsp of oil into the clay pot on low heat. First, fry the carrots and onions until they are half cooked.

Place the rest of the ingredients( including eggplant, fried garlic, shallots and oysters) into the pot and fry thoroughly.

Put the green onion, sauce and 1 tbsp of sesame oil into the pot. Cover the lid on slow heat and cook for about 2 minutes.

Stir evenly and serve.

TIPS:

Wash the oyster gently to avoid damaging it. Use running and clear water to wash off all the sand inside the oyster.
Make sure to not overcook the oysters. Therefore, when washing the oysters with boiling water, turn off the heat first. Then, rinse. This will prevent the oysters from overcooking. Make sure to not put the lid on when doing so.
Use garlic and oil to fry the oyster then we can taste the garlic.
Be careful while frying oysters as the moisture will cause oil splash everywhere
The eggplant will oxidize easily after cutting, so, make sure to boil the pot of water first before cutting
Lastly, don’t forget to put sesame oil at the end as it will enhance all the flavours