Chinese Three Earthly Freshnesses
Try these amazing vegetables in soy sauce. This Chinese dish translates as “Three Earthly Freshnesses,” so it is naturally made from three main ingredients: eggplant, potatoes, and sweet pepper. What gives this dish its truly Chinese character is the use of soy sauce and starch.
Updated : 29 May, 2026
Easy
About 20 min.
Ingredients
0.5
Eggplant
2
Potato
0.5
Bell pepper
1
Garlic
50 milliliters
Soy sauce
0.5 tablespoon
Sugar
2 tablespoon
Water
0.5 tablespoon
Potato starch
20 milliliters
Sesame oil
to taste
Salt
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
How do you make Chinese Three Earthly Freshnesses? I use frozen eggplant cubes, so I take the needed portion, place it in a bowl, and thaw it at room temperature. If you are using fresh eggplant, first wash it, cut it into small cubes, and sprinkle them with salt. Leave them like that for 20–30 minutes. This is done so they will not taste bitter. After half an hour, rinse the cubes under cold water and dry them so there is no excess moisture.
Step 2
Peel the potatoes with a vegetable peeler, then cut them into strips with a knife or on a slicer. That way they will look nicer and the strips will be even. Rinse them to remove excess starch and dry them. Put the potatoes into a skillet, pour in a little oil, and fry them so they are only half-cooked, which means frying them over almost maximum heat. Since all stoves work differently, adjust the heat if necessary.
Step 3
Clean the bell pepper, remove the stem and seeds, and cut it into long pieces. Transfer the potatoes from the skillet to a deep bowl. Put the sliced bell pepper into the same skillet and, just like the potatoes, fry it over high heat for only 2-3 minutes. Then transfer it to the bowl with the potatoes.
Step 4
If needed, add a little more sesame oil and place the eggplant pieces in the skillet. Fry for 3-4 minutes, then add the sugar to the skillet with the eggplant and fry for 1 more minute.
Step 5
Return the half-cooked pepper and potatoes to the skillet, add all the soy sauce, and continue cooking the dish for another 4 minutes.
Step 6
In a small bowl, mix the starch with water and add it to the vegetables. At this stage, also add the minced garlic clove and mix the ingredients well. Simmer the vegetables for another 5 minutes.
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