The Chinese eggplant is cooked until crispy and smoky using minimal oil, and then cooked in a rich savory garlic sauce. This vegan dish is very satisfying, both as a side or a main dish served over rice or noodles. {Gluten-Free Adaptable}
Eggplant is a very tricky vegetable to cook. If you don’t season it properly, it will taste bitter or extremely plain. If using too little oil, the texture will be mushy and create an awful mouthfeel. And if you use too much oil, the eggplant might turn soggy and greasy.
If you don’t like cooking eggplant at home, you probably have some of the worries below:
- Eggplant is quite time consuming to cook, compared to the average vegetable.
- You’ll end up eating more calories without getting an impressive flavor.
That is why I’m posting this Chinese eggplant recipe today, to help you to create a wonderful eggplant dish nearly effortlessly.
This recipe offers the simplest way to cook a great eggplant dish without using too much oil, and avoids soggy and plain eggplant with the minimum needed cooking time.
How to make the perfect eggplant dish
The secret to getting perfect Chinese style eggplant involves two things.
- You have to prepare the eggplant properly before cooking in order to get the right texture.
- You need to make a sauce that is flavorful enough.
To prepare the eggplant, there are two ways to do it.
Before introducing the first method, I want to thank my friend Steve S. He taught me this method quite a long time ago, to prevent the eggplant from absorbing oil.
The method is:
- Spread the sliced eggplant on a towel.
- Sprinkle Kosher salt on both surfaces of the sliced eggplant.
- Allow to rest for 15 minutes.
- Rinse the salt off the eggplant and pat each surface dry.
The second way is:
- Place the eggplant in a large bowl and add water to cover.
- Add 1/4 teaspoon salt, mix well.
- Place a pot lid on top to keep the eggplant under water for 15 minutes.
- Drain and pat dry
I personally prefer the second method. Because when soaking the eggplant in the water, it also preserve the white color of the eggplant and prevent it from oxidizing and turning brown.
Once you’ve finished either of the methods above, there is one more step – after the eggplant is completely dry, sprinkle cornstarch over it and mix by hand, until the eggplant is evenly coated with a thin layer of cornstarch.
Using this method, you can create crispy and nicely charred eggplant on the stovetop in 10 minutes. No need to turn on the oven to get the smoky flavor!
Garlic sauce ingredients
Creating a good sauce is really easy and you only need these ingredients:
- Light soy sauce
- Dark soy sauce: dark soy sauce add a beautiful dark brown color to the dish and a hint of caramel taste.
- Sugar: the sugar balance out the salty ingredients for a more roundup sauce.
- Cornstarch: the cornstarch acts as a thicker to thicken the sauce.
Just mix everything together and pour it over the eggplant at the end of cooking.
Mix en place
It’s important to have all of your ingredients prepped and ready before starting the stir fry. Your table should have:
- Eggplant, sliced, prepared according to either of the two methods listed above, and coated with cornstarch
- Mixed sauce
- Aromatics, chopped (ginger, garlic)
How to cook Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce
1. Pan frying the eggplant until golden on the surface, and the inside has turned tender. Transfer the eggplant to a plate. This step is crucial to keep the eggplant crispy.
2. Saute the aromatics.
3. Add back the eggplant and add the mixed sauce. The sauce will thicken up immediately. And the dish is done!
This recipe only uses enough sauce to coat the eggplant to keep the eggplant pieces crispy.
More delicious eggplant recipes
- Yu Xiang Eggplant (鱼香茄子, Sichuan Eggplant Stir Fry)
- Steamed Eggplant in Nutty Sauce
- Spicy Eggplant Salad (凉拌茄子)
- Di San Xian (Fried Potato, Eggplant and Pepper in Garlic Sauce 地三鲜)
- Grilled Eggplant with Yu Xiang Sauce (鱼香烤茄子)
Happy cooking and hope you enjoy the dish!
Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce (红烧茄子)
Ingredients
- 10 oz (283 g) Chinese eggplant (about 2 small eggplant) , chopped to bite-size pieces (*Footnote 1)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon cornstarch
Sauce (*footnote 2)
- 1 tablespoon light soy sauce (or soy sauce)
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce (*see footnote 3)
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch
Stir-fry
- 2 1/2 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
- 1 teaspoon ginger , minced
- 3 cloves garlic , chopped
Instructions
- (Option 1) Place eggplant in a large bowl and add water to cover. Add 1 teaspoon salt, mix well. Place a pot lid on top to keep the eggplant under water for 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry.
- (Option 2) Spread the sliced eggplant out on a paper towel. Sprinkle Kosher salt on both sides of the eggplant slices. Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Rinse with running tap water to wash off the salt, then pat dry thoroughly.
- Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl, mix well.
- Sprinkle eggplant with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and mix by hand, until eggplant is evenly coated with with a thin layer of cornstarch.
- Add 2 tablespoons oil to a big nonstick skillet and heat over medium high heat until hot. Spread eggplant across the bottom of the skillet without overlapping. Cook the eggplant one side at a time until all the surfaces are charred and the eggplant turns soft, 8 to 10 minutes in total. Transfer the eggplants to a plate. If the skillet gets too hot and starts to smoke, turn to medium heat.
- Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon oil, the ginger and garlic into the same skillet. Stir a few times until fragrant. Add all the eggplant back into the skillet. Mix the sauce again until cornstarch is fully dissolved and pour it over the eggplant. Immediately stir a few times, until the eggplant is evenly coated and the sauce thickens. Transfer everything to a big plate.
- Serve hot as a side or as main over steamed rice or noodles.
Notes
- You can use other type of eggplant and still generate crispy texture if following the method in this recipe. However, Asian long eggplant is the best option.
- This recipe uses very little sauce, just enough to coat the eggplant and make it tastes super flavorful. The rich sauce helps to keep the eggplant staying crispy. Be careful, the sauce will reduce very quickly once you add it to the pan. Stir immediately to coat the eggplant.
- The dark soy sauce will add color to the dish and make it look more appetizing. You can skip it if you don’t have any in your pantry.
I agree cooking eggplant can be tricky but you have nailed it Maggi! I just can’t stare enough at it!
I was chatting with a friend on Facebook about eggplant when the urge hit for your recipe and it hit hard. While normal people are sleeping, I’m in the kitchen making it … at 3:30 in the morning! It’s that good I’ll forgo sleep to satisfy the craving. Thanks Maggie …. it’s so delicious!
Wow, that’s some serious eggplant crave! I’m glad to hear the recipe satisfied your appetite 🙂
I loved this and thank u so much for explaining the technique not to get soggy aubergines – I did the salt version 1 – absolutely delicious, I will have it time and time again 😋 I’d attach a picture but can’t see where to submit it
Ich habe anstatt Zucker Ahornsirup
genommen.Mit Reismehl wird es nicht kross.Von der Soße etwas mehr.Liebe Grüße Bettina
Yum! I’ve always been hesitant about cooking eggplant because it’s oily. Thanks for the tips ~ pinned!
Eggplants are awesome!!! I love them, especially 魚香茄子! I can’t agree more that eggplant is very tricky to cook. You don’t want bland eggplant, and definitely not greasy eggplant. I have not cooked eggplant before. After this post, I feel like I can do it! Next time when I find some Chinese eggplants, I will try this recipe. 🙂
It’s so true that cooking eggplant can be tricky. When people tell me they don’t like it, I always assume that they’ve only had it poorly cooked. This version, however, looks completely delicious. And I love how detailed you are about the process. I’ll definitely try this!
Yep, I’m so agree with you Marissa. I used to hate eggplant dishes, because the poorly cooked ones were just terrible. I’m glad I managed to get a few eggplant recipes. They tasted so great if prepared properly 🙂
This recipe is absolutely phenomenal!!!!! It just melts in your mouth and has such a yummy crunch. I highly recommend this recipe!
Love this dish Maggie! I love eggplant, but have made some terrible eggplant dishes in the past– I wanted to use eggplant in one of my recipes this weekend, so I am using your tips on how to cook it so hopefully mine comes out as beautiful as this!
Hi Michelle, glad you find the method helpful! What dish will you cook? Let me know how it goes! I’d love to learn an new eggplant dish from you!
can you freeze egglant
I wouldn’t recommend freezing eggplant because it contains a lot of water and its texture becomes weird after freezing. If you have to freeze them, you should freeze the cooked ones. They might become watery after reheating.
Wonderful tips! I am looking forward to getting eggplant right! Question – Can I coat the eggplant with rice flour instead of cornstarch? Thanks for your help!
Hi Megan, I’ve never used rice flour to coat the eggplant and I think it reacts differently in cooking. I wouldn’t replace it.
Thanks a lot. I’ll try it.
This was one of my favorite dishes growing up. Yours looks perfect and so flavorful, Maggie! Love that you sprinkled it with cornstarch first, I can’t wait to try that next time!
OMG Maggie! These eggplants look fantastic! I’m always telling my wife that I’m a bit fussy with eggplant – it has to be prepared just right to taste good for me. And to answer your bio question, I LOVE Chinese Food, so much so that my wife makes fun of me for always sticking to the ‘same style’ of food. But I can’t help it. I grew up on it and still love it ! I’m bookmarking your blog cause it’s packed full of the kinds of recipes I love most of all!! CHINESE FOOD!!!
It’s great to have connected on our blogs. Thanks so much for dropping by! And now I’m gonna mega visit your blog too cause it’s amazing. And we ain’t just saying it too. Love it! 🙂
Hey Levan, thanks so much for stopping by and leaving all the kind words! You have a great deal of super nice Chinese food on your blog, and I really love the vegetarian style! I remember that you’re from Singapore right? I’ve been there once and man, the chili crabs are SO GOOD!
Looking forward to chatting more with you. Have a wonderful weekend 🙂
Asian eggplant is one of my favourite vegetables to prepare. It is kind of tricky to prepare. Love how gorgeous your version turned out. Beautiful photos! I make something a little different that came from one of the chefs at Crystal Jade Xioa Long Bao. He taught me to deep fry the eggplant for just a moment quick flash fry and they add the delicious sauce toppings for a fun appetiser. I could eat eggplant every day and never tire of it. I am off to see your other eggplant recipes. Take Care, BAM
Hi Bobbi, the fried method you mentioned, I believe it’s THE authentic way to cook eggplant in most of the Chinese restaurant. It will create a super crispy surface that you cannot get from stir-fry. The only reason I reluctant to cook this way is because I need to use a lot of oil at the first place. Although you can save the oil to use later, sometimes I’m just too lazy to do that 😉 Have a great week and hope the cooking goes well 🙂
Eggplant is definitely one of those veggies I tend to avoid! They’ve always been a bit of a mystery to me, but the way you’ve prepped this dish sounds (and looks) very tasty. I find that sprinkling salt to draw out moisture is very helpful for other veggies too. I use that method often for zucchini and cucumbers.
Oh right! It’s totally make sense to apply the salt method for zucchini and cucumbers too. I will try them out when I grill veggies next time. Thanks so much for reminding me this! 🙂
Look for the long skinny Asian eggplant. You don’t need to hassle with the salting.
I did a Chinese cooking class a couple of months back and the amount of oil poured into the wok to cook the eggplant put me off – which is a shame because I absolutely love it cooked Chinese style. So now I’m going to have to give it another go – I’d eat a plate of this with rice all by myself 🙂
Hi Nancy, I know! Unfortunately it’s the way to cook most Chinese stir fried dishes and the reason why the restaurant version always tastes better! Happy cooking 🙂
Maggie, this and stir fried green beans are my FAVORITE FAVORITE dishes!!! My kids are so tired of me ordering this (and I don’t). Thanks for all the tips. I usually do the #2 method to soak the eggplant. I love eggplant that I don’t mind prepping at all… Looks so good. I wish I have this right in front of me.
Omg I am obsessed with eggplant and am so happy to find this recipe with tips! Will definitely try these prep methods. Thanks a million!
I just tried your recipe. Heavenly! It will now be part of my cooking routine! It tastes as good as it looks. Love it.
Hi Michelle, thanks for leaving me a comment and I’m so happy to hear you like my recipe! This is one of my favorite ways to cook eggplant. It goes great with rice 🙂 Have a great day!
Ohhhh wow… this dish is absolutely calling my name! I love eggplant, and a chinese garlic sauce is my weakness 🙂
This is incredibly good!
Maggie!! This is such a beautiful dish! The light in your photos is just stunning… and now I feel like cooking eggplant for dinner with plenty of rice!
Btw, I’d love to include this eggplant recipe in a vegetarian roundup I’m doing for Parade Magazine.
If you’re fine with that, could I use one of your photos with a linkback to your original post? Thank you!
Hi Felicia, I’m so glad to hear you like this dish! Of course, please feel free to use this recipe in the roundup. Looking forward to the post 🙂
Hey Maggie!
I wanted to let you know that the eggplant round up is now up on Parage Magazine (http://communitytable.parade.com/434510/felicialim/8-new-ways-to-love-eggplant/)
Would love if you could share it with your followers as it’s getting quite a bit of traction!
Thanks so much once again for letting me include your recipe!
Hi Felicia, sorry for the late reply! Thanks so much for including my recipe on Parage Mag and I’m hopping over to do sharing and pinning!
Have a great week ahead 🙂
Winner, winner. We made this tonight for our all vegetarian dinner after finding the eggplants at the Farmers Market. I can’t wait to make it again. Delish!
Thanks for leaving a comment and I’m so glad to hear you tried my recipe Betsy! This is one of my favorites and I make it at home all the time 🙂
Oooh Maggie! I LOVE your tip for how to stop the eggplant from absorbing oil! I HAVE TO TRY THIS ASAP!! 🙂
Made it and it turned out great! I added broccoli and ended up doubling the sauce because of it, but it was very delicious. Thanks for the recipe! I was looking for something new to do with my chinese eggplants. Of course, eggplant tends to take a while, but I let it sit with the salt while I was cooking my brown rice.
Hi Adriana, I’m so glad to hear you like this dish! I never added broccoli into this dish, but it sounds delicious! Yes, eggplant takes extra time and effort to cook, but the result is always rewarding isn’t it 🙂 Thanks for leaving a comment to let me know! Hope you have a super weekend!