Taiwanese-Style Eggplant

3 medium Chinese eggplants

1 quart, plus ¼ cup water

2 tablespoons kosher salt

2 quarts neutral oil

3 tablespoons oyster sauce

4 teaspoons fish sauce

2¼ teaspoons sugar

5 garlic cloves; 2 thinly sliced, 3 finely chopped

1 red Fresno chile, cut into thin rings

¼ cup packed Thai or opal basil leaves, torn in half if large

Instructions: Trim and discard the eggplant ends, then cut into thick wedges, like steak fries — first cut crosswise into 3-inch chunks, then half those lengthwise until you have 1-inch thick wedges.

In a large bowl, combine 1 quart of the water and the salt and whisk until salt is dissolved. Add the eggplant, making sure it is submerged, and let sit at room temperature for 1 hour.

Fill a 5-quart or larger Dutch oven with the neutral oil and secure a deepfry thermometer on the side. Set over medium-high heat and warm the oil to 375 degrees.

Meanwhile, drain the eggplant and dry well with paper towels. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ¼ cup water, oyster sauce, fish sauce and sugar, stir until sugar is dissolved. Set this sauce aside.

Add the sliced garlic to the oil and fry until crisp and light golden brown, about 30 seconds. Use a spider to transfer them to a paper towel to drain.

Check that the oil is still 375 degrees.

Set up for the second fry by setting a dry wok or large skillet over high heat.

Carefully slide all the eggplant into the oil. Stir until eggplant has darkened and caramelized on the edges, about 1 minute. Remove eggplant with spider and drain well over the Dutch oven, then transfer to the screaming-hot wok.

Immediately add the chopped garlic and most of the chile rings (reserve a few for garnish) to the eggplant in the wok and toss everything to combine.

Add the reserved sauce and continue to toss until sauce thickens to a glaze and eggplants are browned at the edges, about 1 minute. Add most of the basil leaves and toss until wilted.

Transfer the contents of the wok to a serving platter. Crumble the fried garlic and scatter it over eggplant with rest of basil and chile rings. Serve immediately.

Makes 4 servings

From “Mister Jiu’s in Chinatown” by Brandon Jew and Tienlon Ho