Hit by a craving for your favorite Asian take away? Try out this eggplant with garlic sauce recipe.
In most Asian recipes, you’ll usually find tofu, shrimp or chicken as the hero ingredient. But here, we have been using eggplant which makes it a great choice for those looking for a vegan option.
The dish is super soulful, takes under 20 minutes to make, and is the perfect rushed, weeknight meal option for the entire family.
Jump to:
Ingredients For the Recipe
In addition to the eggplant, you will need just a few simple pantry staples to make this dish.
- Eggplant (cut into bite sized pieces): 2 cups
- All purpose flour: 2-3 tbsps\
- Oil: 2 tablespoon + 1 tbsp
- Light soy sauce: 2 tbsp
- Dark soy sauce: 1 tbsp
- Oyster sauce: 1 tbsp
- Apple cider vinegar: 3 tbsp
- Salt: ¼ tsp
- Black pepper powder: ¼ tsp
- Corn flour: 1 tbsp
- Garlic (minced): 1 tbsp
- Green chilies (minced): 1 tbsp
- Sesame seeds: 1 tbsp
- Spring onions (chopped): For garnish
How to Make the Stir Fried Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
Once you have all the ingredients ready, here is what you will need to do to make this dish.
Cut and clean the eggplant pieces. Drain them of the water and dry them completely.
Next, add all purpose flour to the eggplant and coat them properly. Keep aside.
Heat 2 tablespoon oil in a pan. Add in the coated eggplant and stir and saute for 7-10 minutes or until the eggplants are completely cooked. Keep them aside.
In a small bowl, mix together light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt, black pepper powder, and corn flour. Mix well. Keep aside.
Heat oil in a pan. Add in the garlic, green chilies, and sesame seeds. Saute and stir.
Next, add in the prepared sauce and mix well. Let it come to a simmer.
Add in the sauteed eggplant next and mix well.
Serve hot after garnishing with chopped spring onions.
Frequently Asked Questions
I added oyster sauce, soy sauce and apple cider vinegar to lend a beautiful flavor to the sauce but if you really want to go the extra mile, you could also add some hot sauce or any other Asian stir fry sauce of your choice.
In addition to the eggplant, you could also add some potatoes. Just make sure they are cooked well as the eggplant and potatoes can have different cooking times.
If you have any leftovers, you can refrigerate them for up to a day in the airtight container. To reheat, place them in a pan with a little splash of water. Cover it with a lid and cook it over low heat for a few minutes.
Tips & Tricks to Make the Stir Fried Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
Making this eggplant in garlic sauce is super easy, but you might want to take note of these tips and tricks as well.
- If you want to get a bit of a sweet flavor to this dish, you can also add some honey or maple syrup into the mix.
- To add a kick of heat, throw in some red pepper flakes while you’re putting the sauce together.
- I used apple cider vinegar for this recipe, but you could totally use your white vinegar too.
- I would recommend using a nonstick pan or a cast iron skillet to fry the eggplant. This will make sure it is nice and brown on the outside and soft and tender on the inside.
- You could also choose to roast the eggplant in the oven. If you want to, just make sure you grease it nicely from all the sides with some cooking spray or olive oil or any other cooking oil of your choice.
- To get the perfect Asian flavors into this dish, I would recommend using sesame oil.
Serving Ideas & Suggestions
This savory and smoky eggplant in garlic sauce can be the perfect teammate to your bowl of rice or noodles.
Thanks to its predominant Asian flavors, you can easily enjoy it as a side with practically any of your Asian mains.
Got some extra eggplant that you want to use up? Here are a few more recipes centered around eggplant that you might want to try out.
📖 Recipe
Stir Fried Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 cups Eggplant, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2-3 tbsps All purpose flour
- 3 tbsps Oil
- 2 tbsps Light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon Oyster sauce
- 3 tbsps Apple cider vinegar
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon Corn flour
- 1 tablespoon Garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon Green chilies, minced
- 1 tablespoon Sesame seeds
- Spring onions , chopped for garnish
Instructions
- Cut and clean the eggplant pieces. Drain them of the water and dry them completely.
- Next, add all purpose flour to the eggplant and coat them properly. Keep aside.
- Heat 2 tbsps oil in a pan. Add in the coated eggplant and stir and saute for 7-10 minutes or until the eggplants are completely cooked. Keep them aside.
- In a small bowl, mix together light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, apple cider vinegar, salt, black pepper powder, and corn flour. Mix well. Keep aside.
- Heat oil in a pan. Add in the garlic, green chilies, and sesame seeds. Saute and stir.
- Next, add in the prepared sauce and mix well. Let it come to a simmer.
- Add in the sauteed eggplant next and mix well.
- Serve hot after garnishing with chopped spring onions.
Leave a Reply