Easy Eggplant Stir Fry with Garlic Sauce
This delicious eggplant stir fry is made with a savoury garlic-soy sauce and cooked until perfectly succulent. Great served with rice or noodles as a main course.
Servings: 2 servings
Calories: 223kcal
Ingredients
- 2 large Chinese long eggplant (can also use regular eggplant)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2½ tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon sugar (I like coconut sugar)
- 2½ tablespoon oil suitable for high heat cooking
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon ginger, minced
To serve
- Green onions/ spring onions
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- Cut eggplants into 4 pieces lengthwise, then cut each piece into rough 2-inch strips.
- (NOTE: The two next steps are optional and will give you crispier eggplant. If short on time, skip straight to step 4 and fry eggplant without soaking/coating.) Stir 1 teaspoon salt into a large bowl of water, and submerge eggplant pieces (cover with a plate to ensure pieces are submerged). Leave to soak for 15 minutes.
- Drain and pat dry eggplant with paper towel, then toss in 1 tablespoon cornstarch, ensuring eggplant is evenly coated.
- In a small bowl, mix together soy sauce, sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon cornstarch until combined (use a whisk to break down cornstarch lumps).
- Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a large skillet or frying pan on medium high heat. Add eggplant in a single layer and fry until golden - 6-8 minutes - flipping frequently. (If skillet isn't large enough, do two batches.)
- Transfer eggplant to a plate. Add remaining ½ tablespoon oil to skillet. Sauté garlic and ginger for 30 seconds on medium heat.
- Add sauce and cooked eggplant to skillet, and cook - stirring - for one minute to allow sauce to thicken.
- Decorate with green onion slices and sesame seeds, and serve with rice or noodles if desired.
Notes
Eggplant - I recommend long Asian eggplant as it's small and has less seeds than regular ones. You can use any other type of eggplant though.
Corn starch - Sub tapioca starch or potato starch if you don't have it.
Soy sauce - Use tamari (gluten free soy sauce) if sensitive to gluten.
Soak - Soaking your eggplant is not essential, but it will give you firmer, crispier pieces. If you have time, try it.
High heat oil - Use a cooking oil that's stable in high heat, as some don't perform well at high temperature. I like avocado oil.
Nutrition
Calories: 223kcal | Carbohydrates: 16.9g | Protein: 1.8g | Fat: 17.7g | Saturated Fat: 2.5g | Sodium: 1619mg | Potassium: 251mg | Fiber: 3.6g | Sugar: 9.1g | Calcium: 29mg