Sweet & Sour Chinese Eggplant

Now I have to be honest.  There are not many traditional Chinese dishes that I know how to make.   Oh and by not many I mean there are really only a handful.  Sweet and sour Chinese eggplant is something I grew up eating.  My mom use to make this all the time.  Of course she has no recipe written down (darn Chinese women who cook from the heart) and she used pork that she cut up herself ... but do I look like a little Chinese housewife to you?  Okay don't answer that.  I don't think I even truly appreciated my mom's cooking until I moved out.

Now there is a difference between Chinese eggplant and regular eggplant.  The regular eggplant that you see in the grocery stores are big and round.  I have only been able to find Chinese eggplant at Asian supermarkets.  Chinese eggplant is purple like the regular kind but long and skinny.  I don't know much about regular eggplants but growing up eating Chinese eggplant all I know is it is good.

Here is my version of my mom's sweet and sour Chinese eggplant:

Ingredients:
3 Chinese eggplants, diced into 1 inch pieces
1/2 lb ground turkey
2 inch piece of ginger, sliced thinly
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks green onions, diced
1 teaspoon corn starch
4 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup water

Directions:
1.  Combine ground turkey meat with 1 teaspoon cornstarch and mix well with your hand.  Set aside.
2.  Fry eggplant pieces in hot oil for about 2-3 minutes.  Remove from wok or pan.
3.  Saute garlic, ginger, and green onion in the pan until fragrant.
4.  Add ground turkey to pan to cook
5.  In a mixing cup, mix soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and water together.  Pour over the cooking ground turkey meat.
6.  Add in the previously fried eggplant pieces and bring to a boil.
7.  Turn the heat to medium low and cover.  Allow to simmer for about 10 minutes until cooked.  Serve hot over rice.

Now my mom has never had my version of this dish so I can't tell you if she approves or not but I can say that the husband approves.  So maybe my children won't end up eating only American, Mexican, and Italian food.  Ha!

Enjoy!
XOXO