Garlicky Chinese Eggplant


A few weeks ago, my family and I got takeout from Sang Kee Peking Duck House. After ordering some soup, duck and pork, we settled on eggplant in garlic sauce as a veggie to (sort of) balance things out.

Of all the things we ordered, the first item that we finished was the eggplant. It was soft, garlicky and coated in a lovely sticky sauce.

When I saw Chinese eggplant on sale at the produce market this week, I knew I'd have to take a shot at my own take on the garlicky eggplant.

This dish is addictive. It's really comforting with a nice balance of soft, crunchy, sweet, salty, and tangy. It also packs a bit of heat from fresh ginger and tons of garlic.

And it's pretty healthy! Instead of frying the eggplant in oil like most recipes call for, I steamed my eggplant and then simmered it in the sauce. (If it wasn't so hot out/my smoke detector wasn't so cranky, I probably would have grilled the eggplant instead of steaming it.)

I garnished my eggplant with scallions, cilantro, and peanuts, but all three are optional. If you love spice, sriracha would be a fantastic addition.


Garlicky Chinese Eggplant
Yield: serves 4-6

 Ingredients
  • 2 pounds Chinese eggplant
  • 2 heads/26 cloves fresh garlic, peeled
  • 3 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
  • 1 tablespoon plum sauce
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch
  • 1 teaspoon fish sauce*
  • 2 tablespoons lime juice
  • 1/2 cup coconut milk
  • 1/4 cup chicken stock, veggie stock or water
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 3 inches fresh ginger, peeled & minced
  • 1 bunch scallions (optional)
  • 1/4 cup peanuts, roughly chopped (optional)
  • 2-3 tablespoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped (optional)

Cooking Directions
  1. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, then into 1 inch half moons. Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and steam with whole garlic cloves until tender, about 20 minutes.
  2. Meanwhile, mix together soy sauce, hoisin sauce, plum sauce, cornstarch, fish sauce, lime juice, coconut milk, stock/water and brown sugar in a small bowl. Set aside.
  3. Heat oil in a medium saucepan and saute the ginger on medium heat until soft and fragrant. Add the sauce mixture and cook on low.
  4. When the eggplant is tender, toss it into the sauce with the garlic. Simmer for about 10 minutes on medium high uncovered and then about 15 minutes on medium low covered.
  5. Serve as a main dish over rice or quinoa or as a side dish alongside a seared chicken breast or grilled pork chop.
*Omit the fish sauce or replace with something like a vegetarian oyster sauce to make this dish vegetarian or vegan friendly.

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