Three treasure Vegetables (Di San Xian)

THREE TREASURE VEGETABLES (DI SAN XIAN), a north eastern Chinese dish with eggplants, potatoes and capsicums is going to be your favorite Asian dish to make; we know it is for us!

Encased in a flavorful sauce of roasted garlic and soy sauce with the spicy heat of chilies it will make you fall in love with eggplants and wonder why you did not make this before!

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So easy to make, quick to come together and super delicious, this Chinese stir fry is so creamy and packed with not only the crunch of pan roasted potatoes but the creaminess of slightly charred eggplants along with the fresh bite of just cooked bell peppers/capsicum in a satiny, velvety soy sauce mixture.

It is an absolutely mouthwatering quick vegetarian and vegan vegetable stir fry, perfect as a side with any Chinese or Indo-Chinese meal and a wonderful complete meal with just a bowl of rice or any fried rice too!

I have already made it twice already and had to share this easy recipe with you!

EARTH’S THREE TREASURE VEGETABLES ("Di San Xian" as it is called in Chinese cuisine):

"Di San Xian" loosely translates to “three treasures from the ground or Earth” in Chinese and now has become my favorite way to enjoy eggplants.

The “three treasures of the Earth” here are represented by the combination of potatoes, eggplants and bell peppers; summer bounty from Mother Earth!

This summer, our backyard garden has been yielding lots of beautiful eggplants (the Japanese long variety) and some fresh, cute bell peppers along with some green chilies and tomatoes. Nothing tastes better than homegrown veggies and fruits!

So, when I wanted to make something fresh and quick for lunch a few days back using these homegrown beauties, I did not have to look any further than my garden,  this north eastern Chinese dish along with some store bought potatoes.

Before smothering the fresh veggies with a delicious mixture of soy sauce, chili paste (the Indian in me had to add some spiciness to the dish) and some vinegar, you have to flash fry the eggplants and potatoes in some oil (sort of sauté on medium high heat) until slightly beginning to char.

Traditionally, they are deep fried, but I feel that sautéing them on high heat in some oil does the same job without any deep frying involved with oodles of oil!

Once almost crispy on the outside but with still a bite to them, they are then added to sautéed onions, garlic and crisp bell peppers before smothering them with the sauce mixture to give a lovely velvety, satiny finish to the whole dish.

That is it!

Enjoy immediately with a large bowl of rice or even fried rice for a completely satisfying meal.

INGREDIENTS YOU WILL NEED TO MAKE THIS AMAZING DISH:

Now, coming to the earthy ingredients which I am sure all of you will definitely have, you will need first and foremost, the afore mentioned “Earth’s three treasures”:

• Eggplants/Aubergine/Baingan – I have used the long variety Japanese eggplant which is the one preferred but you can use any you find in your neck of the woods. Make sure to chop and soak in water until cooking time to prevent any browning happening.
• Potatoes – this adds some structure and bite to the dish. Just peel and cube before pan sautéing/pan frying them.
• Bell peppers – the third member of the “3 treasure” trio; you can use any color of bell peppers. My garden gave me some green and some orange ones, so used those.
• In addition to the "trio of vegetables", of course, to add more depth of flavor, you will need some onions and garlic too; the backbone of most Chinese or Asian dishes.

But the key part of the dish is that flavorful soy sauce mixture you smother these flash fried veggies in. For that, you will need:

• Soy sauce – light or dark, does not matter but I prefer using the dark variety here.
• Vinegar – use white or even rice vinegar
• Chili sauce – I have used my favorite pantry ingredient which I use to spice up even sandwiches or fried rice – store bought Schezwan chutney by Ching's Secret but you can use any chili paste, sambal oleak or even Sriracha sauce or hot chili sauce as long as you get the spiciness you want.
• Adding some sweetener like raw sugar, brown sugar, jaggery or even plain sugar is your choice but I love to give my Chinese dishes a tad bit of sweetness especially in this one. My sweetener of choice always is some jaggery (unrefined cane sugar) or even raw turbinado sugar.
• Cornstarch is optional but stirring in some of it (just a wee bit mind you) gives a lovely smooth and satiny finish to the whole dish.
• Of course salt and oil go without saying.
• Optional garnishes you can use could be toasted sesame seeds, chopped green onions etc.
  I love the crunchy bite of roasted peanuts in my Asian dishes, so I managed to sprinkle some of that in the end.

(Detailed step-wise recipe as well as a PRINTABLE RECIPE CARD with the amount of these ingredients is available BELOW).

SERVING SUGGESTIONS:

As mentioned earlier, it goes so well with a bowl of hot steamed rice but feel free to use it as a side with any meal.

With a truckload of peaches too in my backyard, I decided to make a quick peach rasam too to sip on with this awesome combo of rice and Three Treasure Vegetables!

For the peach rasam, I just followed my Pineapple Rasam recipe and substituted Peaches instead of pineapples.

Do give this easy yet super tasty Asian curry a try soon as it is definitely going to be your go to most of the times whenever you get some fresh eggplants and also if you love bell peppers!

When you do make it, I would love to see and hear about it.

Feel free to leave your thoughts and comments in the box below (please do give a rating too) and/or share your version on Instagram using #curryandvanilla16 or @curryandvanilla16 so that I can see it and share it on my stories.

You can also share it on my Facebook page too.

Enjoy and Happy Cooking/Eating!

For a complete Indo-Chinese experience along with this stir fry, you can make these lip smackingly good Asian dishes which my family demands all the time:

• Easy Sweet Corn Soup
• Burnt Garlic Vegetable Fried Rice
• Homemade Vegetable Spring Rolls
• Mushroom Fried Rice

Step-wise Instructions to make Three Treasure Vegetables:

TO PREP THE VEGETABLES AND AROMATICS:

Cut 4 Japanese eggplants and 1 medium sized potato (after peeling) into bite sized chunks. Store both in separate bowls of water to avoid any browning effect until cooking time.

Chop 1 to 2 bell peppers (just green or a mix of colors) into cubes, mince 6 large cloves of garlic and cut 1 large onion into petals or dice them.

TO MAKE THE SOY SAUCE MIXTURE:

Mix 1/4 cup dark soy sauce, 2-3 tablespoons Schezwan Chutney (or your choice of hot sauce), 2 teaspoons vinegar, 1 tablespoon jaggery powder (or your choice of sweetener), 2 teaspoons of cornstarch and 2 teaspoons sesame oil in a bowl, adjusting the taste to make for a spicy yet mildly sweet and savory sauce mixture.

TO MAKE THREE TREASURE VEGETABLES STIR FRY:

Heat 3 tablespoons of any cooking oil or even sesame oil and when hot, drain the potatoes from the water (if doing so) and add to the hot pan.

Sauté them with a sprinkle of salt on medium heat until almost cooked and browned, stirring often.

When almost cooked and they have a nice golden brown char, remove using a slotted spoon and set aside in a plate or bowl.

Add more oil if needed to the pan and tip in the eggplant after removing from water.

Shallow fry/sauté the eggplant cubes on medium high heat, stirring often until again almost cooked but with still a bite and beginning to char or brown.

Do this in batches and if the eggplant is fresh, it will cook in a flash and at the same time, the high temperature of the wok or saucepan will add a char to the vegetable.

Add some salt if needed. Remove using a slotted spoon and set aside.

If needed, again add 2 tablespoons oil and when hot, add the minced garlic. Fry on medium heat until starting to brown.

Stir in cubed onions and stir fry for a few minutes until it loses its color and turns translucent.

Tip in the cubed bell peppers and sauté on medium high heat for a minute or so until starting to cook yet maintaining its crunch and color. DO NOT OVERCOOK.

Add the browned potatoes and eggplants along with sauce mixture; mix well to coat and cook on medium heat, adding a sprinkle of water and salt if needed.

Heat just until all the flavors have blended and the veggies have heated through and almost cooked (but still with a bite in it); just a couple of minutes; again, do not overcook.

Sprinkle roasted peanuts (optional) and roasted sesame seeds, remove from heat and serve immediately.

It is perfect with a large bowl of rice but can be a side or accompaniment to any meal!

Enjoy and Happy Cooking/Eating!

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