Chinese Hoisin Eggplant Stir-fry. Soft flavourful eggplant covered in a glossy sweet soy hoisin sauce with an optional spicy kick. Delicious for dinner or lunch as a side dish. Ready in 20 minutes. This recipe is vegan.
This Chinese eggplant recipe will turn any non-eggplant fan into an eggplant lover! I’ll be honest, I was never really an egg-plant fan until this dish. There is something about the texture of eggplant that used to make me say, "thank you, next". BUT when you stir-fry egg plant in a sweet savoury sauce like this, oh my goodness, my opinion of this purple vegetable completely changed!
I highly recommend this hoisin glazed eggplant especially if you are new to eggplant and you’re looking to expand your vegetable profile!
Easy to make!
This stir fry eggplant dish is incredibly easy to make and the sauce is so simple. In fact, this whole dish only requires 8 ingredients and less than 20 minutes of your time!
Versatile!
This eggplant dish is also very versatile. You can pair it with some steamed rice or noodles and any of your favourite veggies or protein.
If you want to add some protein to this dish, I recommend adding some ground chicken or pork.
Can I make this non-spicy?
Yes go for it! This spicy hoisin eggplant can be made without any chillies to eliminate the spice.
Is eggplant supposed to be mushy?
When stir fried, yes it’ll become wilted and mushy if you overcook it for too long. But if you follow my recipe to a tee, it’ll maintain it’s shape but soften.
Can I use regular eggplant instead of Chinese eggplant?
You may but just slice the eggplant into long thin wedges for a shorter cooking time.
How do you cut eggplant for stir fry?
I recommend for this recipe to cut it into long thin wedge like pieces.
Can you eat eggplant uncooked?
You may but for this recipe I recommend cooking it for 15 minutes to ensure it’s fully cooked.
Other recipes you may like!
STEAMED GARLIC BOK CHOY
CHINESE GARLIC BOK CHOY
GARLIC YU CHOY
CHINESE FIVE SPICE TOFU STIR-FRY
STIR FRIED MUSHROOMS
For this recipe
You will need the following ingredients for my eggplant with hoisin sauce:
- 2 long unpeeled Japanese eggplants, about 5 cups, sliced into thin wedges
- 3-4 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1 red chili sliced optional
- 1 green chili sliced, optional
- Sesame seeds, optional garnish
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon minced garlic
How to make hoisin eggplant stir fry
- In a large mixing bowl, coat eggplant wedges with cornstarch until each piece is evenly coated.
- In another bowl, whisk together your sauce ingredients.
- Then in a large non-stick pan or wok over medium high heat, and add 2 tablespoon oil. Carefully add eggplant into the hot oil and fry for 15 minutes until each piece has wilted and it’s soft. You may need to reduce the heat.
- Remove and transfer fried eggplant onto a dish.
- In the same pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and chillies (optional) and fry for 20 seconds.
- Then quickly pour in sauce and allow it to simmer for 30 seconds. Add back in the eggplant and give it a light toss until each eggplant piece is coated in sauce, no more than 30 seconds. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy hot!
- Optional: garnish with sesame seeds.
Give it a try!
Well I hope you give my Chinese Hoisin Eggplant Stir-Fry recipe a try! It always excites me when you guys make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.
Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed this eggplant and hoisin sauce, please share it with your family and friends or on social media! Take a picture if you've made my recipe and tag me on Instagram @ChristieAtHome in your feed or stories so I can share your creation in my stories with credits to you!
Made this recipe and loved it?
If you could leave a star rating for my hoisin sauce glazed eggplant, I would greatly appreciate it 🙂 Thanks so much!
Take care,
Christie
*This post for my hoisin eggplant recipe contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also earn from qualifying purchases through additional affiliate programs
Chinese Hoisin Eggplant Stir-fry
Ingredients
- 2 Long Japanese eggplants about 5 cups, sliced into thin wedges
- 3-4 tablespoon cornstarch
- 3 tablespoon vegetable oil
- 1 red chili pepper sliced, optional
- 1 green chili sliced, optional
- Sesame seeds optional garnish
Sauce:
- 3 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 tablespoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- ½ tablespoon regular soy sauce
- ½ tablespoon garlic minced
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, coat eggplant wedges with cornstarch until each piece is evenly coated.
- In another bowl, whisk together your sauce ingredients.
- Then in a large non-stick pan or wok over medium high heat, and add 2 tablespoon oil. Carefully add eggplant into the hot oil and fry for 15 minutes until each piece has wilted and it’s soft. You may need to reduce the heat.
- Remove and transfer fried eggplant onto a dish.
- In the same pan over medium heat, add 1 tablespoon oil and chilies (optional) and fry for 20 seconds.
- Then quickly pour in sauce and allow it to simmer for 30 seconds. Add back in the eggplant and give it a light toss until each eggplant piece is coated in sauce, no more than 30 seconds. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy hot! Optional: garnish with sesame seeds.
Rosemary
When I was in undergrad I used to get Asian eggplant all the time!! I loved it so much
Heidi | The Frugal Girls
I love the heat you've added to this dish. It really does give the other flavors such a fun kick in the pants!
Helene
Making it for the second time tonight ! Converted me to eggplant lover !
christieathome
Thanks so much Helene for the kind comment! I'm so glad you now enjoy eggplants!!!
bela
This was amazing! I didn't have any starch so I used flour instead. I also added in rice vinegar and ginger to the sauce, and mushrooms and cauliflower with the eggplant. so good!
christieathome
Thank you so much for your kind comment! I'm so glad it worked out! And yum those additions sound amazing!
Kate
This was delicious and easy to make! I didn't have any chiles but it was still super flavorful!
christieathome
So happy to read this Kate, thanks for making my recipe! Glad it was well enjoyed 🙂
Roz
Loved this recipe, I used potato starch instead of cornflour, worked well. My hubby even liked it and he doesn't like Aubergines... news to me lol Oh well.
christieathome
I am sooo happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe! Potato starch is such a great idea and it makes it even crispier 🙂 Happy to hear the husband liked it! Woo hoo!!!!
Janis
This recipe was delicious. I didn't have hoisin sauce, so I made an approximation from soy sauce, apple cider vinegar, molasses, peanut butter, sesame oil, siracha, garlic and Chinese 5 spice powder (from a different website).
christieathome
So happy to read this Janis! Thanks for making my recipe and glad you enjoyed it 🙂
Leda
I love eggplant and was looking for a recipe specifically with hoisin sauce. This is delicious and I'll make it again and again. Next time, I may try cooking the eggplant in my enameled cast iron skillet to use just the required amount of oil. I had a very small non-stick skillet and it took awhile to sauté the eggplant. I used one Thai red chili without seeds and one jalapeno pepper without seeds. It's just the right amount of spice for me.
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe, Leda! I am so glad you enjoyed it. That's a great idea and I'm sure the cast iron skillet will give it a beautiful flavor and even a char.