Most eggplant dishes in Chinese cuisine are overly oily. Eggplant is basically a natural sponge. It craves moisture and absorbs whatever you cook it with. Many Chinese recipes start with deep frying eggplant, which results in a very rich and oily dish. My lightened version of spicy garlic eggplant uses steaming to soften the eggplant. Then you finish it with a stir fry with spicy garlicky bean sauce. Super savory and delicious without being overly oil.
You can use either Japanese or Italian eggplant for this dish.
For other lightened Asian recipes, check out my tofu and snow pea stir fry.
Spicy Garlic Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 Italian eggplant cut into 2 inch matchsticks
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 1 tsp spicy bean paste
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- 1 tsp Sambal chile sauce
- 1 handful spring onion chopped
Instructions
- Fill a large steamer pot with water. Steam eggplant for 15 minutes until softened. Then remove and set aside.
- Mix together spicy bean paste, soy sauce, sugar, and sambal chile sauce. Set aside.
- Heat sesame oil in pan. Add in garlic and ginger. Saute 1 minute.
- Add in eggplant and stir fry gently for 1 minute. Then add sauce mixture and stir fry for another minute. Add in green onion. Then remove from heat and serve.
