This is a quick and easy Chinese eggplant recipe with a sweet and tangy garlic sauce. The eggplant pieces are so tender, they almost melt in your mouth. It’s a new favorite in my kitchen! Ready in 20 minutes from start to finish.
Making a stir fry using eggplant can be challenging since achieving the right texture is supremely important to the success of the dish.
There is nothing more disappointing than to be served a plate of semi cooked, sort of crunchy eggplant, sitting in a puddle of oil. This is the reason why I no longer order eggplant dishes from restaurants and started making my own at home. This Chinese eggplant recipe is very easy to make and yields tender eggplant pieces perfectly seasoned with garlic and a salty, vinegary sauce. Delicious!
Table of contents
What is Chinese Eggplant?
Unlike the big, bulbous American eggplant that’s used for popular dishes like eggplant parmesan, a Chinese eggplant, which is the same as a Japanese eggplant, or an Asian eggplant, is much smaller and longer. Its skin is thinner and the flavor is also milder because it contains a lot less seeds (which cause eggplant to taste bitter) than the American type.
Because of it smaller size and thinner skin, Chinese eggplants are perfect for stir frying, sauteing, and grilling, since they take less time to cook and have a milder taste.
Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce Ingredients
- Chinese eggplant: As previously mentioned, if you cannot find anything labeled Chinese eggplant, look for Japanese or Asian eggplant. They are all the same.
- Peanut oil: Peanut oil has a nutty flavor and a high smoke point, which makes it the ideal oil for stir fries.
- Garlic: Just like with Italian food, Chinese food cannot be made without garlic! Garlic provides that pungent and slightly sweet and floral taste that we’ve all come to love so much.
- Ginger: Ginger adds a little heat and earthiness to this eggplant recipe.
- Chinese dried red chilis: Chinese dried red chilis infuses the dish with smokiness and heat. If you can’t handle too much heat, remove the seeds as they are what makes peppers so hot.
- Scallions: Scallions are added last to provide a refreshing crunch and a colorful element.
- Sauce: A mixture of soy sauce, sugar, chinkiang vinegar, shaoxing wine, and sesame oil. Chinese garlic sauce has an iconic flavor profile that can be found in many Chinese dishes. It’s sour, salty, nutty, and a little sweet.
How to Make Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce
Scroll all the way down to the recipe card to get the full Chinese eggplant recipe.
- Make the sauce. Whisk the ingredients for the sauce in a bowl and leave it on the side.
- Chop and stir fry the eggplant. Stir fry the eggplant with a little oil for a few minutes over medium heat, until they are tender. Transfer the eggplant to a bowl.
- Cook the garlic, ginger, and chilis. Use the same pan and after cooking them for a minute, return the eggplant to the pan.
- Add the sauce and scallions. Stir fry for a quick minute and drizzle a little sesame oil.
- Serve with warm rice. Brown or white rice. Enjoy!
Tips on Cooking with Eggplant
- Take your time. Depending on the size, an eggplant can take up to 25 minutes to entirely cook. So it’s important that you stay patient when cooking with eggplant as they take time to soften. However, for this recipe, the eggplant shouldn’t take more than 5 to 7 minutes since we are using Chinese eggplant, and are slicing them bite size.
- Take it easy on the oil. Eggplants only need a little oil to cook. Since they absorb oil really quickly, adding too much will only make them mushy.
- Use salt to draw excess water. I only use this tip when I am cooking with American or certain types of European eggplants that are on the bigger and thicker side. By lightly salting them (they must be sliced for this tip to work) and leaving them for an hour or so, the excess water will make it easier for the eggplant to soak up the delicious sauce it is meant to be paired with. Wipe each piece clean with a paper towel before cooking with them.
- For Chinese eggplant, another way I absolutely love to cook them is to put them whole, in a skillet, with no oil, over medium heat. This a no fail trick and yields the most tender and perfect eggplant. Just turn them over after 2-3 minutes, when the skin is charred. Test the doneness with a knife and voila! Slice and serve on top of pasta, or drizzle with tsuyu or your favorite dressing. I taught this trick to my mother and now she uses it all the time!
Storage
You can store the leftovers in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Make ahead: This Chinese eggplant recipe can be made the day before and will still taste great the next days. For best results, make the sauce ahead of time and save it in the fridge. The sauce will keep for up to 1 month. I also always keep a container of chopped scallions in the fridge. It’s a huge time saver if you cook a lot of Asian food like I do.
Frequently Asked Questions
Try using zucchini or thinly sliced potatoes (preferably chopped into thin sticks). Potatoes are often used in Szechuan cuisine despite the fact that we don’t see them very often on menus here in the US. They are a staple ingredient for the simple reason that they are cheap and take on pretty much any flavor you add to them.
Technically yes, you can, but I wouldn’t recommend it. The reason being that American eggplant has a thicker skin, lots of seeds which can be very unpleasant in a stir fry, and a stronger, more acrid, taste.
It depends on the eggplant. For smaller and younger eggplants like a Chinese eggplant, there is no need to since the skin is thin. For larger eggplants, yes, you should always peel the skin as it may be old and have a tough texture.
What to Serve with this Chinese Eggplant Recipe
Aside from a warm bowl of rice, there are plenty of other Chinese classics you can serve with this dish.
Some of my favorite are:
- Bok choy with garlic and oyster sauce
- Singapore Chow Mei Fun
- Moo Goo Gai Pan
- Egg fried rice
- Vegetable wonton soup
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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!
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Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 2 1x
- Category: Stir Fry
- Method: Skillet
- Cuisine: Chinese
- Diet: Vegan
Description
This is a tender Chinese eggplant stir fry dressed in a spicy garlic sauce. Ready in 20 minutes from start to finish.
Ingredients
- 2 to 3 long Japanese or Chinese eggplant, sliced in half lengthwise and chopped
- 2 tablespoons peanut oil
- 4 large cloves garlic, peeled and minced
- 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and minced
- 2 to 3 Chinese dried red chilis, chopped
- 4 scallions, finely chopped on the bias
Sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons granulated sugar
- 1 tablespoon chinkiang vinegar
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine or dry sherry
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
Instructions
- Whisk all the ingredients for the sauce into a bowl and set aside.
- In a large pan over medium high heat, add 1 tablespoon peanut oil and eggplant. Stir fry for a few minutes (about 5 minutes) until the sides are golden brown and the center is tender.
- Transfer eggplant to a plate and add remaining 1 tablespoon peanut oil to the pan. Add garlic, ginger, red chilis and cook for 1 minute.
- Add eggplant and scallions, toss and pour the sauce. Stir fry for 1 minute, until all the vegetables are coated.
- Turn the heat off and serve with white or brown rice.
Notes
Leftovers: Store the leftovers in an airtight storage container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 2
- Calories: 194
- Sugar: 6.2g
- Sodium: 883.8mg
- Fat: 16.5g
- Saturated Fat: 1.4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 10.1g
- Fiber: 1.7g
- Protein: 2.2g
- Cholesterol: 0mg
Questions and Reviews
Simply put, my husband said “This is one of the best eggplant dishes I’ve ever had.”
Thank you!
Thank you so much to you and your husband ❤️ !
This is a great recipe! I didn’t have any peppers, so I used 1 large clove of garlic and 1 tablespoon of chili garlic sauce. I also topped it with peanuts, and it was like Kung Pao Eggplant…a delicious plant based main dish. I will make it again!
Thank you so much Dawn! 🙂
This was simple and tasty. I followed the suggestions of other commenters: microwaved the eggplant for 50 seconds before putting it in the pan which I think made it more tender and kept the cooking time down, and added a little cornstarch at the end to thicken the sauce. I think for a little more complexity in flavor next time, I could try adding a touch of Chinese 5-spice along with the pepper.
Thank you for this excellent recipe.
Thank you Tina! 🙂
I love eggplant and like you really dislike it when undercooked. It has to be almost mushy. I like to try different types of eggplant. This recipe is delicious although I found the recommended cooking time was not enough. After sauteing and browning the eggplant, i turned the heat down and covered the wok for another 5-7 minutes until the eggplant was the desired softness. Thanks so much for a great flavour combination for this dish.
Needed to double the sauce. Recommend adding cornstarch/water slurry at the end to thicken sauce. Great flavor!
this recipe is soooo amazing! and suprisingly kid friendly??? i hid some of these in my kids fried rice, and they picked it out but they ate them first!!! definately i am making this again!
That’s so great Maliyah! Thank you for sharing this 🙂 ❤️
I’ve tried unsuccessfully to find a recipe I made some time ago, this is similar, however my recipe included ground pork. I would love to have it. I will try adding the ground pork to this recipe.
I added ground pork! I fried it first to cook it, then left the fat in the pan to start cooking the eggplant and went from there. It turned out great!
I’ve made stir-fries before but this one was stellar because the sauce is absolutely spot-on delicious! Having had this dish many, many times, this is the flavor I have never been able to make until now! Family loved it and said yes, make this again. Keeping this in our rotation from now on, yum!
My word was this recipe outstanding. I added a touch of oyster sauce to the mix as well as some hot chili oil. WOW WOW WOW. I will definitely be making this again soon!
Thank you so much Tylar!
Wonderful! I couldn’t find the vinegar, the woman at the asian market recommend balsamic as a substitute . I added mushrooms quarters to the eggplant. This recipe is simple and delicious. !!!!!!!!
Thank you so much! I bet mushrooms are really good with this, great idea! 🙂
The sauce is a wonderful and I’ve used it for scrambled eggs and for sauteed chicken. I would say that if you can get shaoxing wine at an Asian grocery for the sauce, do so. It makes a huge difference in the flavor; for me it’s closer to what I remember from Chinese restaurants. I’ve tried sherries and other subs, but the shaoxing is the winner. Try to find it without salt, if possible. It’s a bit more expensive, but worth it in flavor and quality.
My husband saw some Chinese eggplants at the local farmers market and insisted I buy some and try to make this dish. I randomly chose your recipe and he loved it! Raved about it! Wants it all the time now. Too spicy for me though. I pull out some of the cooked eggplant and eat that before adding the other ingredients.
This recipe is so good! I love it! Can you please tell me how to make it softer? Thank you very much
Sooooo yummy! Best eggplant recipe ever.
Absolutely delicious thank you
I love this dish! Eggplants are one of my favorite vegetables!
This was really good. Mine could have been better, but I gave it 5 because I was a little “loose” with the recipe. I want to try again, following more closely.
I also wanted to add that I had microwaved my eggplant first, to get it all soft (I only had Italian, not Japanese) and that worked quite well, texture-wise.
I couldn’t taste the sesame oil and next time will add more.
Looking forward to more recipes on this site, which I’ve just discovered!
Thank you Lisa for your comment and welcome to Pickled Plum! I hope you enjoy my recipes 🙂
This is the best eggplant dish I ever made! Just like in the restaurant. I love it, it made me so happy! Thanks so much.
Thank you Fran! 🙂
Terrific recipe! The eggplant was delicious and didn’t feel greasy. Flavors were wonderful. I substituted chicken broth for the wine because I can’t have alcohol. This was my first recipe from this website. I will be using it more from now on!
Thank you so much Subheen! 🙂
I have an abundance of white eggplants growing in the garden this year, and this was a great recipe to make use of them. I substituted rice vinegar because that is what I had on hand, and added extra red peppers for more heat. Delicious recipe, and very quick to prepare! Will be making this again.
Thank you Maricela! 🙂
So easy and so tasty! Other recipes I looked at said to soak the eggplant in salt water, etc, so more steps and more time to prepare. I wanted easy so went with this one and am so glad I did!