Garlicky Chinese Eggplant Easy (Print Version)
# Ingredients:
→ Main Ingredients
01 -
2 green onions, sliced
02 -
2 Chinese eggplants (roughly 450 g), chopped into chunky 5 cm bits about 1.25 cm thick
03 -
2 tablespoons (30 ml) vegetable oil
04 -
1-inch (2.5 cm) ginger knob, diced
05 -
4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
→ Sauce
06 -
1 teaspoon (2.5 g) cornstarch
07 -
2 tablespoons (30 ml) soy sauce
08 -
1 tablespoon (15 ml) rice vinegar
09 -
0.5 teaspoon (2.5 ml) sesame oil, optional
10 -
1 tablespoon (13 g) sugar
11 -
Red pepper flakes, as much as you like (optional)
12 -
60 ml water
→ To Serve
13 -
Hot steamed rice
# Instructions:
01 -
Spoon the finished dish onto plates. Best enjoyed hot with a pile of fresh rice.
02 -
Move the cooked eggplant back into the skillet. Gently stir so it gets coated in sauce. If you like, sprinkle on sesame oil and shake in some red pepper flakes. Top off with the green onions.
03 -
Pour your sauce mix over the sautéed garlic and ginger. Keep stirring and simmer until you notice things thickening up—should take just a couple minutes.
04 -
Grab a little bowl. Blend together soy sauce, rice vinegar, water, sugar, and cornstarch until it’s smooth with no lumps.
05 -
Splash a bit more oil into the pan if it’s dry. Toss in ginger and garlic. Stir them around for one minute until everything smells awesome.
06 -
Pour 2 tablespoons of oil into a wide non-stick pan or wok and heat it up over medium-high. Drop in eggplant pieces but don’t crowd them and cook about 8–10 minutes, flipping now and then until they’re golden and soft. Do it in batches if you have to. Set finished eggplant aside for now.
07 -
Rinse off the eggplants, chop them into chunky 5 cm sticks that are 1.25 cm thick. To mellow the flavor, you can let them soak in salty water for 10–15 minutes, then drain and dry them off well.
# Notes:
01 -
To mellow out any strong taste in eggplant, soaking it in salty water really helps. This trick makes the inside soft but not mushy.
02 -
Don’t wait around—dig in while the eggplant’s still hot and the sauce is nice and shiny.