My Japanese influenced eggplant and okra fish stir fry packs in all the savory, sweet and smoky goodness of mom’s home cooking, hot and fresh from the wok. I serve mine with brown rice for a protein packed, no fuss meal. Less than 25 minutes from start to finish.
I love this smoky stir fry because the eggplant is so tender it almost melts in my mouth – and the okra retains a soft, yet subtle crunch. My salty, sweet Japanese marinade infuses the tender fish the with umami and moisture.
Caroline’s Cooking Tips
What Eggplant Works Best?
I recommend using Japanese eggplant or Chinese eggplant. They’re both much longer and skinnier than the deep-purple pregnant orbs commonly found in the produce section at the grocery store.
Here’s how to differentiate between the two:
- Japanese Eggplant tends to have a super dark purple exterior.
- Chinese Eggplant has a lighter lavender color.
From a taste standpoint, both varieties are equally delicious. And the best thing about both Chinese and Japanese eggplant is that they both have very few seeds – and have super thin skins which cook relatively quickly, making them the perfect choice for this stir fried fish and veggies recipe.
How to Cut The Eggplant and Okra
For the eggplant: slice the eggplant into pieces that are about 1-inch thick and 3-inches long. Kind of like a small potato wedge. This way the pieces will cook quickly – but will still retain their shape in the stir fry.
For the okra: Cut the stems off first, then slice the pieces in half along the bias (diagonally).
Table of Contents
Ingredients Needed
Scroll to the bottom of this page for the full recipe steps and measurements.
- Fish: I’d recommend using fish with a rather firm flesh so the pieces retain their shape in the stir fry. Salmon, arctic char and tuna are all great choices. Slice into bite sized pieces.
- Japanese or Chinese Eggplant: I use roughly 10 ounces, sliced, salted, drained and dried.
- Okra: These edible seed pods have the perfect soft crunch! Use about six okra pods, sliced obliquely in the center.
- Cooking Oil: High smoke point – neutral flavor. Grapeseed or vegetable oil is fine.
- Sesame Oil and Black Pepper: These are my finishing ingredients. I add them once the heat is off, and just before plating. The nuttiness of sesame oil and the piney heat of black pepper bring the whole thing together.
Fish Marinade Ingredients
4 ingredients: Cooking sake, soy sauce, sesame oil and cornstarch.
Why it works: The cornstarch tenderizes and locks moisture into the fish, making it less likely to dry out in the pan. Sesame oil brings a toasty element.
Stir Fry Sauce Ingredients
4 ingredients: Oyster sauce, sake, soy sauce and water.
Why it works: The sharpness of the sake cuts through the deep salinity and sweetness of oyster sauce. Water mellows the saltiness of the soy.
How I Make It
- Marinate the fish. Combine the marinade ingredients in a bowl and add the fish. Leave for 15 minutes.
- Salt and drain the eggplant. Place the sliced eggplant in a bowl and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Toss and leave for 15 minutes. Then gently squeeze any excess water out of the eggplant slices and pat each one dry.
- Mix the stir fry sauce in a bowl and set aside.
- Cook the eggplant. Heat half of the cooking oil in a wok or deep skillet and add the eggplant pieces. Toss until cooked through (see the recipe card below for timing suggestions). Transfer to a plate and set aside.
- Stir fry the fish and okra in the same pan. Stir fry until the fish is cooked through. Then return the cooked eggplant to the wok and add the sauce. Stir until well mixed. Turn the heat off.
- Season and serve. Stir in the sesame oil and ground black pepper. Serve immediately.
Protein Variations
I gravitate to salmon and arctic char. They’re tender but the sliced chunks still hold up to being tossed around in a hot pan with other ingredients. But this recipe works with other proteins – and I’ve used the same marinade for all of them.
Options include firm tofu, chicken, tuna, soy curls, shrimp and squid.
Storage and Reheating
Store leftovers in the refrigerator (covered) for up to 24 hours. That said, this stir fry tastes best hot and fresh out of the wok. If leftovers sit too long in the fridge, the eggplant and okra lose their bounce and get a little mushy.
Reheat gently in the microwave until hot throughout. Bring it to temp in 30 second intervals and check the temperature of the fish. When it’s hot, stop! Microwaves tend to dry fish out if left on blast for a long time.
I do not recommend freezing leftover fish stir fry.
What I Serve With Fish Stir Fry
Rice! While the traditional move would be to make steamed Japanese rice, I’ve enjoyed this with jasmine rice and Thai style sticky rice. When I’m feeling like keeping it healthy, I go for nutty brown rice. And when I want to blow it out and have a little fun, I’ll make Japanese fried rice or classic Chinese egg fried rice. They all work.
Here are a few more of my favorite eggplant recipes: Eggplant with Chinese Garlic Sauce, Nasu Dengaku – Japanese Miso Glazed Eggplant, Char Siu Style Roasted Eggplant, Eggplant and Kabocha Miso Gratin, Mabo Nasu – Japanese Style Eggplant Stir Fry
Frequently Asked Questions
For this recipe, I make sure to cook the eggplant alone in the pan first. Once it’s tender, I take it off the heat and keep it on a plate for mixing back in as a last step. Eggplant is finicky. Cook it too long, it disintegrates. Too short and it’s chewy and awful. So I prioritize the eggplant and cook it alone. The ideal texture is soft and supple, but still holding its shape.
Sesame oil has a low smoke point – and can turn very bitter if it burns. While I cook this stir fry on medium heat, it’s generally a best practice to use sesame oil while the food is hot – but off the active heat source.
I always try to find small, fresh okra pods at the grocery store. I’ve found that the larger pods – and pods with dark spots on them – tend to be higher on the slime factor. My husband hates this (I don’t mind as much). But to make us both happy, I buy small, blemish free okra and this seems to do the trick most of the time. Not slime free, but minimal.
Tableware
The tile pattern sauce plate used in the images is from Musubi Kiln.
Musubi Kiln is an online store specializing in high quality handmade Japanese tableware and dinnerware. Each product is made by Japanese craftsmen using traditional techniques that have been passed down from generation to generation.
Receive 10% off your purchase when using the code CAROLINE at checkout.
Did you like this recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
Print
Eggplant and Okra Fish Stir Fry
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 22 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Main
- Method: Stir frying
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Diet: Low Calorie
Description
Savory, sweet, and smoky Japanese style fish stir fry that’s ready in less than 25 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients
- 6 ounces firm fish such as salmon, arctic char, or tuna, sliced into bite size pieces
- 10 ounces Japanese or Chinese eggplant, sliced about 1-inch thick and 3 inches long, like small potato wedges
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or grapeseed oil, or other neutral oil
- 6 okra, stem removed, sliced in half
- 1 teaspoons sake
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- Ground black pepper, to taste
Fish marinade:
- 1 teaspoon sake
- 1 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon cornstarch or potato starch
- 1/4 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Marinade the fish. Add all the ingredients for the marinade in a bowl and stir to combine. Add the fish to the marinade and toss the pieces to coat them evenly. Leave for 15 minutes.
- Salt and drain the eggplant. Place the eggplant in a bowl and sprinkle 1/2 teaspoon of salt over the pieces. Toss and leave for 15 minutes. Then gently squeeze the eggplant to get rid of excess water and pat each piece dry with a paper towel.
- Mix the sauce. Meanwhile, mix the sake, soy sauce, oyster sauce, and water in a bowl and set aside.
- Stir Fry the eggplant. Heat the oil in a wok or deep skillet over medium heat and add the eggplant. Toss and cook the eggplant for 3-4 minutes, or until it’s cooked through and transfer to a plate. Set aside
- Cook the fish and okra. In the same pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, and then add fish and okra to the wok and cook for 3 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. Return the eggplant to the wok and add the sauce. Stir fry for 30 seconds and turn the heat off.
- Season and serve. Stir in the sesame oil and season with ground black pepper. Serve.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 serving
- Calories: 307
- Sugar: 5.8g
- Sodium: 825.1mg
- Fat: 20.2g
- Saturated Fat: 12.2g
- Unsaturated Fat: 2.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 12.4g
- Fiber: 5.1g
- Protein: 21.6g
- Cholesterol: 43.5mg
I loooove eggplants and okra! Can we have more okra recipes, please?
Absolutely! I love okra as well 🙂
once again Carolyn hits a home run! Absolutely delicious and easy to make. I used frozen shrimp from the freezer as I didn’t have fish.
Superb
Yay! Thank you Debra 🙂 ❤️