Sichuan · main
Fish-Fragrant Aubergine
鱼香茄子 · Yúxiāng Qiézi
Aubergine in the 'fish-fragrant' Sichuan flavour profile — sweet, sour, garlicky, mildly spicy. No fish in the dish.
Fish-fragrant (yuxiang) is one of the seven canonical Sichuan flavour profiles — sweet-sour-garlicky-chilli, originally developed for cooking fish but applied to many other ingredients. The aubergine version is among the most popular. Common as a meatless main; some versions add minced pork.
Where to try
Sichuan restaurants nationwide.
Dietary notes
Vegetarian versions widely available; specify no pork.
Cities to try Fish-Fragrant Aubergine
Other southwest dishes
- Baba Flatbread粑粑
Yunnan's daily flatbread — a thick wheat or rice-flour round cooked on a griddle and eaten plain or stuffed.
- Bang Bang Chicken棒棒鸡
Cold poached chicken shredded by hand, dressed in chilli oil, sesame paste and Sichuan peppercorn.
- Boiled Fish in Chilli Oil水煮鱼
Fish slices submerged in a deep pool of chilli oil and Sichuan peppercorns. Served bubbling.
- Chongqing Hotpot重庆火锅
The original mala hotpot — a simmering cauldron of beef tallow, Pixian doubanjiang and Sichuan peppercorn for communal dipping.