Recipe: Use fermented bean paste for this eggplant dish

How to make Spicy Eggplant from Golden Buddha
CONTRIBUTED BY HENRI HOLLIS

CONTRIBUTED BY HENRI HOLLIS

One of my favorite dishes from this long-time Atlanta Chinese restaurant is Spicy Garlic Eggplant. Seems simple enough but I simply cannot recreate the dish. Mine is always too dry, too salty or too gingery. Do you think you could get the recipe for me? I'd love to use up an abundance of Japanese eggplants! Thank you.  — Beverly Rice, Atlanta

The folks at Golden Buddha were happy to share this recipe. They told us, “This Mandarin-style Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce dish originates from northern China. The owner’s mother used to make it as a refreshing dish in the summer time. Now, we have carried on this family traditional meal in our restaurant for 43 years.”

Spicy, fermented bean paste is “Dou Ban Jiang” in Chinese. You will probably find it labeled “chili bean paste” and it will be available at any store that carries a wide variety of Chinese groceries. It could even be on the shelf of your local grocery if they carry an extensive line of international products. We bought ours at the Buford Highway Farmers Market.

From the menu of … Golden Buddha, 1905 Clairmont Road, Atlanta. 404-633-5252. goldenbuddhaga.com

Is there a recipe from a metro Atlanta restaurant you’d like to make at home? Tell us and we’ll try to get it. We’ll also test it and adapt it for the home kitchen. Because of volume, we can’t answer all inquiries. Send your request, your address and phone number to fromthemenu@gmail.com and put “From the menu of” and the name of restaurant in the subject line.

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