Don’t allow the true name trick you—there’s no fish right right here. Rather, this Sichuanese eggplant classic is profoundly flavored with garlic, ginger, and pickled chilies, aromatics which are frequently related to seafood cookery.

Photograph: Vicky Wasik

Excerpted from The Food of Sichuan by Fuchsia Dunlop. Copyright (c) 2019 Fuchsia Dunlop. Combined with authorization for the publisher, W. W. Norton & business, Inc. All liberties reserved.

The after recipe, called yuxiang qiezi in Chinese, is a Sichuanese classic, plus one of my all-time favorite dishes of any food. Fish-Fragrant Eggplants (Sichuan Braised Eggplant With Garlic, Ginger, and Chilies) Recipe Okumaya devam edin