Di San Xian (Stir Fried Eggplant, Potato and Pepper, 地三鲜)

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• What is Di San Xian
• Ingredients
• Cooking procedure
• Serving ideas
• Other tasty veggie dishes
• 📋 Recipe card

What is Di San Xian

Today, I’m introducing one of the tastiest vegan Chinese dishes: Di San Xian (地三鲜), stir-fried eggplant, potato and pepper. It’s a classic dish from Northeastern cuisine (Dōng Běi Cài/东北菜), which is heavily influenced by Lu Cuisine/鲁菜, one of the Four Great Cuisines of China.

The literal meaning of Dì Sān Xiān is “three umami foods from the earth”, referring to the three vegetables featured in the dish. While the ingredient composition may sound ordinary, the overall taste is amazingly delicious.

The eggplant, potato, and pepper are first cut into large chunks, and then fried until crispy. A brown, thick, aromatic sauce is added at the end to bring all the elements together in harmony.

 

For those who have requested recipes that highlight vegetables, this dish is a treasure not to be missed.

🌟 BONUS: When testing this recipe, I replaced the traditional deep-frying method with shallow-frying. It requires much less oil and worked very well!

Ingredients

Here are the three star vegetables for Di San Xian:

• Eggplants (aubergine). I prefer the Asian/Chinese variety, which is long and cylindrical with a vibrant lavender color, sweet undertones, and a tender texture. If you have trouble sourcing these, regular, oblong eggplants can be used as a substitute (Learn their difference in my post on Steamed Eggplant).
• Potatoes. Choose the starchy types, such as russet, Yukon gold, etc.
• Peppers. They can be bell peppers or large fleshy chili peppers. Choose any color that you like.

To season the dish, you’ll need these common condiments:

• Light soy sauce
• Dark soy sauce
• Shaoxing rice wine, or dry sherry
• Cornstarch
• White pepper
• Salt & sugar
• Garlic
• Scallions

🌟 NOTE: Dark soy sauce adds an appetizing brown shine and a sweet undertone to the dish. If unavailable, it’s fine to only use light soy sauce.

Cooking procedure

Step 1: prepare the vegetables

Use the roll-cut technique (aka oblique cut) cut the eggplants: Cut crosswise diagonally, then give it a quarter turn and cut at an angle again (Watch the video inside the recipe card below). This method creates a larger surface area, allowing more sauce to cling to the pieces. Cut the potato and pepper into similar sizes and shapes for uniform cooking.

Sprinkle a little salt over the eggplant pieces. Let them sit for about 5 minutes until their surface becomes wet. Then add cornstarch and use your hand to mix, ensuring an even coating.

This procedure helps the eggplant gain a crispy crust and prevents it from absorbing too much oil during frying.

Step 2: shallow fry the vegetables

Begin by heating oil over medium heat in a wok or skillet. Fry the potato pieces first. Flip them a few times to lightly brown all sides. Once done, remove and place them on a wire rack or a paper towel-lined plate/tray.

Next, add the peppers to fry. Once their skin starts to blister, transfer them out to drain alongside the potatoes.

Increase the heat to high and add the eggplant. Continue to fry until each piece is golden and crispy.

Step 3: Season the dish

Before you start the final step, measure and mix all the condiments with a little water.

Pour out the oil, keeping just a thin coating in the wok. Add chopped scallions and minced garlic. Fry them on low heat until they become aromatic.

Before adding the sauce, stir it thoroughly in case any cornstarch has settled at the bottom. Pour it into the wok and stir immediately as it thickens quickly.

Add all the fried vegetables back into the wok and toss them briefly to ensure they are evenly coated with the sauce.

🌟 NOTE: It’s crucial to keep the heat low during this step. Also, make sure to swirl the sauce constantly. This way, the sauce will thicken reasonably slowly and there won’t be any lumps.

Serving ideas

Now that you have a plate of delicious vegetable stir-fry, simply scoop some over a bowl of steamed rice and devour it!

To add some protein to the meal, consider trying Char Siu Chicken, Beef Stew, Red-braised Pork Belly, Kung Pao Shrimp, Mapo Tofu, and many more dishes available on the recipe index page.

Other tasty veggie dishes

Looking for more delicious ideas to cook vegetables? Try these popular ones:

📋 Recipe card

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