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.
Searching for this one for years! I had great Chinese eggplant years ago and have tried to replicate it or find a recipe. This is the one!
Tastes good, but it really is a lengthy process to prep the eggplant. I did eggplant, then fried up zucchini, then the garlic with strips of beef…I then did the sauce (tripled and added a bit more water so it’s less salty), and then mixed it all together. It tastes very close to what you would get at a proper Chinese restaurant, but again, it takes a while to salt/let it sit/pat dry the veg slices after the water from the veg comes out after contact with the salt.
I just made this tonight. It was so good!!! This has always been my favorite way to eat eggplant. I know my dad loves it too because he will bring me the Chinese eggplant when he comes and visits.
Hi! Would this be freezer friendly?
I think it’s possible to freeze it but the eggplant will turn quite mushy.
This dish tastes exactly like my dad’s cooking. My husband and I love it, my brother and sister loves it… we just can’t get enough. The sauce alone is to die for!
Best eggplant dish I have cooked! I doubled the sauce just because it was so delicious and it was perfect with a big bowl of rice
So happy to hear it! 🙂
Your friend Steve’s technique worked out perfectly! The texture was spot on and so was the sauce. Thank you!
So easy and delicious
Best eggplant I have ever eaten!!! I followed the recipe using Option 2 and it was amazing. Thank you so much for sharing.
This was delicious! I added a block of tofu that I cut into small triangles and pan fried and tripled the sauce. I’m already looking forward to the leftovers.
In the directions, if soaking the eggplant, it says water and 1/4 tsp salt. Then where it is written in the printable recipe it says 1 tsp salt. Which is best??
1 teaspoon salt is better!
Recipe was great! Made a little more sauce and added a couple of teaspoons of fermented bean and chili oil. I will definitely make it again
The salt needs to be roses off It’s way too salty otherwise. Tasty otherwise
I’ve never cooked good eggplant until this recipe! The tips on how to prep the eggplant were a game changer. I can’t wait to cook this again and improve on what I learned.
I have two Japanese eggplant plant that has been producing way too much this season in my garden. I’ve searched for the perfect recipe and this is it! Very delicious, and easy to do. The cornstarch really adds a nice crunch and the sauce was simple and perfectly seasoned. Thank you
I made this with a bunch of little-finger eggplants from my garden and it was delicious! I doubled the sauce recipe and used a little extra oil. A big frying pan is a must to avoid having to cook the eggplant in batches.
My family has been making this for years! One of our go-to’s when we have eggplant to use up. Sometimes we’ll throw broccoli or bell peppers into the mix as well. Easy and delicious:)
I love this recipe so much! I tried many different recipes and never successful until this one. Thanks very much for sharing.
Delicious!! Made it with Asian eggplant and everything went as described—great texture, no bitterness, touch of sweet, yummy!
Next time I might add a bit of zing to it but otherwise a solid five star recipe. Thank you, this one is getting printed cause it’s a keeper.
Thanks for the positive review! You can add a spoon of chili oil at the end of the cooking if you like a spicy taste. A touch of oyster sauce in the sauce will also boost the flavor as well.
If you don’t mind a longer recipe, you might like this one: http://omnivorescookbook.com/sichuan-eggplant/
This is absolutely delicious!