Family Meal Plan: Sweet Yu Xiang Chinese Eggplant Stir-Fry with Steamed Rice + Garlic Sauce + Ginger Tonics

Sweet Yu Xiang Chinese Eggplant Stir-Fry with Steamed Rice

Happy & Healthy Cooking,

Fun-Da-Mentals Kitchen Skills

• blend :

  to stir together two or more ingredients until just combined; blending is a gentler process than mixing.

• boil :

  to cook a food in liquid heated to the point of gas bubbles and steam forming (boiling point is 212 F at sea level).

• chop :

  to cut something into small, rough pieces using a blade.

• measure :

  to calculate the specific amount of an ingredient required using a measuring tool (like measuring cups or spoons).

• mince :

  to chop into teeny tiny pieces.

• simmer :

  to cook a food gently, usually in a liquid, until softened.

• stir :

  to mix together two or more ingredients with a spoon or spatula, usually in a circle pattern, or figure eight, or in whatever direction you like!

• stir-fry :

  to cook meat, fish, or vegetables rapidly over high heat while stirring briskly—used in Asian cooking.

History of Stir-Fry!

• Stir-frying began in China, possibly as early as 400-500 CE. It became more common during the late Ming Dynasty (1368–1644). Chinese cooks would place a "wok" (pronounced like "walk"), a deep frying pan with a wide bottom, over a flame in the hole of a simple stove to cook meat, fish, and vegetables. 
• Chinese immigrants eventually brought their stir-frying cooking method to America in the mid-1800s. Then, in the 1970s, with the trend toward healthy eating and using fresh ingredients in recipes, along with their busier lifestyles, people wanted a quick, easy way to cook healthy food, and stir-frying became more popular. As a result, you could find a wok in more kitchens than ever before!
• To stir-fry, you continually stir until the dish is finished. The wok was created to go over an open flame. Woks have slanted edges to disperse the heat while cooking. When one vegetable is finished cooking, push it up the edges (which are cooler so those veggies do not burn), then place the next veggie in the center. Using this method, you can cook all the food for your stir-fry at the same time.

Let's Learn About China!

• China's official name is The People's Republic of China. It became a republic in 1912; however, the first Chinese dynasty appeared around 2100 BCE. China is one of the largest countries in the world, and it has the most people!
• The official language of China is Mandarin. However, various dialects are spoken in different regions of the country. For example, in Shanghai, they speak Shanghainese.
• China is around the same size as the continental United States but only has one official time zone. The continental US has four.  
• China's capital city is Beijing, while the most populated city is Shanghai.  
• The Great Wall in China is the largest man-made construction on Earth, stretching an incredible 5,500 miles. Its builders used mortar that included sticky rice to bind the Great Wall's stones! 
• China's land is diverse, with high mountains, low coastal lands, deserts, and damp tropical areas. Just like the United States!
• The Chinese are known for their papermaking, porcelain, and silk cloth. In addition to paper, they also invented the compass during the Han dynasty (202 BCE to 220 CE), woodblock printing in the Tang dynasty (by 7th century), gunpowder in the Tang dynasty (9th century), and movable type made of porcelain (for printing) between 1039 and 1048 CE, during the Song dynasty.
• Chinese cuisine varies by region. Climate, local agriculture, ethnic and class backgrounds, and outside influences all contribute to China's food diversity. There are eight major regional Chinese cuisines: Anhui, Cantonese, Fujian, Hunan, Jiangsu, Shandong, Szechuan, and Zhejiang.
• Wheat is farmed in northern China, so noodles and other foods made from wheat are consumed more in the North. On the other hand, rice is cultivated in southern China; therefore, rice is a staple in the South.  
• Tea has long been part of Chinese culture across all parts of society. China was the first country to grow and drink tea and, today, it exports the most green tea worldwide.

What's It Like to Be a Kid in China?

• School success is greatly emphasized in China. Chinese kids go to school five days a week (six days before 1995), and their school day runs from 7:30 or 8 am until 4 or 5 pm. After school, they might do homework for three hours.
• In primary school, kids learn the Chinese language, which is made up of about 7,000 characters, not letters. The characters represent words. By the time they finish primary school, they will have learned about 4,000 characters. They will also learn a foreign language, especially English.
• Kids may not have aunts, uncles, or cousins because, at one time, the Chinese government allowed couples to have just one child due to the high population. That later changed to two, and in May 2021, the policy changed again to allow three kids, so now a child may have a sibling or two. 
• Some of the holidays that kids celebrate with their families are Chinese New Year, the Dragon Boat Festival, and National Day. National Day is celebrated with fireworks and parades to commemorate the formal proclamation of the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. 
• Kids enjoy playing ping pong, basketball, volleyball, and badminton. They also play video games and ride their bikes. 
• Rice and noodles are staples, and kids may eat these at every meal. They'll eat their food using chopsticks, not forks!