This dish is in the spirit of Chinese American takeout: umami, sweet, sour, and noodles wreathed in a glow of garlic oil. This is a Kylie original, riffing off the NYT Cooking’s Sweet & Sour Eggplant. Our version knows no national bounds – Japanese Udon, Chinese black vinegar, Holy Basil and Sawtooth coriander from Thailand, Gochugaru from Korea combine to make quintessentially American food.
Aside from the preparation of the garlic chips and garlic oil (which can be done ahead of time), the dish comes together incredibly fast, 20 minutes tops. Serves 4 as a main course.
Ingredients
- 1/2 head garlic (8-10 cloves), thinly sliced against the grain
- 1/3 cup canola oil or other neutral oil
- Kosher salt
- 24 ounces fresh Udon noodles (3 individual portion packets)
- 3 medium Chinese eggplants (about 1 pound total), quartered lengthwise then cut into irregular 2-inch pieces
- 6 tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
- 4 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon Chinese black vinegar
- 1 teaspoon gochugaru (or 1/2 tsp red-pepper flakes)
- 1/2 cup fresh Sawtooth Coriander, roughly chopped (or Cilantro leaves)
- 1/2 cup fresh Holy Basil leaves, roughly chopped (or regular Basil)
Preparation
Set a small sieve over a heatproof bowl. Combine garlic and oil in a large skillet or wok and heat over medium-low. Cook garlic until very lightly golden brown and crisp and the bubbles have subsided, 3 to 4 minutes, then quickly strain the garlic chips into the sieve set over the bowl. Transfer the garlic chips to a paper towel-lined plate, season with kosher salt and set aside. Its better to undercook than overcook the garlic chips, as they’ll continue to darken for a minute after they’re pulled out, and overcooked garlic chips have an unpleasant bitterness. The oil and garlic chips are best fresh, but can be stored for a day or two.
Cook the udon according to package instructions, but a bit al-dente. Perhaps 1 minute less than the recommended cooking time. Discard any sauce or flavoring packets.
Heat 3 Tbsp cup garlic oil (1/2 the total amount) over medium-high. Cook the eggplant in batches, stirring occasionally, and adding oil as needed, until cut sides of eggplant are golden-brown and skins are slightly wrinkled, 6 to 8 minutes. Set the eggplant aside as each batch completes.
Add the remaining garlic oil to the skillet. Toss the Udon in the oil to coat. Add the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and red-pepper flakes and reduce the heat to medium-low. Reintroduce the eggplant. Simmer, tossing the eggplant and noodles to coat, until sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes.
Serve topped with Holy Basil, Sawtooth Coriander and garlic chips.