Di San Xian

• 8-10 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 maris piper potato / white potato, halved and sliced to 1/2-cm pieces
• 1 large Asian aubergine, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 1-2 tbsp corn flour (corn starch)
• 1 pepper
• 2 onions
• 2 cloves of garlic , minced
• 2 teaspoons sesame seeds for garnish

The Sauce

• 1 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tbsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
• 1 tsp sugar

• 100ml vegetable stock

• Slice the potato into rough chunks keeping all the pieces as similar in size as possible. Then slice the aubergine in a similar manner. Once the aubergine has been sliced, cover the pieces in the cornflour to help protect them during the cooking process. Then slice the onion and pepper into large chunks / dices and finely chop the garlic ready to stir fry later on. Place on a plate or bowl ready to stir fry.

• Mix all ‘The Sauce’ ingredients together apart from the vegetable stock, which you can leave aside and use during the stir fry.

• Fill a wok ⅓ the way up with vegetable oil and heat to a medium - high heat (around 160-170°C). Use a wooden skewer or wooden chopstick to test the oil by placing the tip for the wood in the oil: if the wood starts to fizz after a 4-5 seconds, the oil is roughly at 170°C.

• Carefully lay the potato chunks into the wok and fry them until crisp around the edges for roughly 8-10 minutes. Remove the potatoes and drain on 2-3 sheets of paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat this process with the aubergines, except this time, fry for just 5-6 minutes to cook the aubergine pieces through. Drain the aubergines well before returning to the stir fry.

• Once the aubergines and potatoes have been fried you can finish off the stir fry. Carefully pour out the deep frying oil into a saucepan / heatproof bowl and then carry on with the stir fry. Using the residual oil in the wok, stir fry the onions, peppers and garlic until slightly charred and softened. Then add the potatoes and aubergines back into the wok and bring to a high heat.

• Pour ‘The Sauce’ over the top and stir fry for 2-3 minutes to caramelise nicely around the vegetables. Then keep the wok on a high heat and pour in a the vegetable stock a little at a time, allowing the vegetables to suck up the stock.

• Serve immediately with a bowl of steamed rice on the side.