Quick & Easy Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant
Tender eggplant cooked in a spicy, savory, garlic sauce with fragrant red chilies, scallions, and ginger. This quick and easy Chinese spicy garlic eggplant recipe uses simple ingredients and is ready in 30 minutes! A delicious side that's both family-friendly and better than takeout.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chinese eggplant or Japanese eggplant
- ¼ cup cornstarch or potato starch
- 5 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 10 dried red chilies whole kind
- 5 slices ginger peeled
- 1 green onion finely chopped
Sauce
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce or light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian stir-fry sauce
- 1 tablespoon water cold
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or dry sherry wine / dry white wine / chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
- ½ teaspoon red chili flakes like Sichuan chili flakes / gochugaru / crushed red pepper flakes
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Slice the unpeeled eggplant lengthwise into quarters to create four long strips. Cut each strip into 2-inch pieces and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Add the cornstarch and toss until evenly coated.
- Heat ¼ cup (60 ml) of vegetable oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Gently fry the coated eggplant until tender and about 90% cooked. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce the heat to medium-low. Add the remaining vegetable oil and sauté the ginger, red chilies, and green onions for about 10 seconds.
- Return the eggplant to the pan, add the sauce, and gently toss until evenly coated. Remove from heat and serve.
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Nutrition
Calories: 256kcal | Carbohydrates: 57g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 1280mg | Potassium: 1343mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 23g | Vitamin A: 2254IU | Vitamin C: 331mg | Calcium: 73mg | Iron: 4mg