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    Home » Recipes » Appetizers/Sides » Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant

    Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant

    Last Modified: March 1, 2022 - Published by: christieathome - Comments: 9 Comments

    Jump to Recipe Jump to Video Print Recipe

    Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant. Tender eggplant cooked in a spicy, savoury garlic sauce fried with aromatic dried red chilies, green onions, and ginger.

    Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant

    Ready in 30 minutes

    You will never want to cook eggplant any other way once you try this! This eggplant dish is ready in just 30 minutes.

    Very flavourful!

    There are many Asian eggplant recipes out there but this one is super flavourful and has an amazing umami flavour thanks to the oyster sauce. It’s also slightly sweet to balance out the salty flavours from the soy sauce.

    Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant

    Easy to make!

    My Chinese eggplant recipe is very simple to make at home! The cooking process takes less than 10 minutes, maybe 7!

    Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant

    You’re basically coating the chopped eggplant in cornstarch. Then premixing your sauce and preparing the aromatics. Then in a hot wok, you’ll fry the eggplant in oil and set aside. Next, lightly fry your aromatics, toss back in the eggplant, and pour on that sauce. Give it a light toss and that it’s!

    See below for Steps and Video

    I will show you step by step with images and a short video on how to cook spicy garlic eggplant. Just scroll down below!

    What You'll Need

    For this eggplant with garlic sauce, you’ll need the following ingredients:

    • eggplants (long slender Asian kind)
    • cornstarch
    • vegetable oil
    • ginger
    • green onion
    • dried red chilies

    Spicy garlic eggplant sauce:

    • garlic
    • regular soy sauce, not light or dark!
    • dark soy sauce
    • oyster sauce
    • water
    • Shaoxing wine, or dry sherry wine
    • sugar
    • rice vinegar or white vinegar
    • cornstarch
    • crushed red chili flakes

    How to make Spicy Garlic Eggplant

    Below are brief instructions and images to help you make this eggplant in spicy garlic sauce. Detailed instructions are located below in the recipe card.

    Premix sauce.

    Coat chopped eggplant in cornstarch.

    Fry coated eggplant in oil over medium high heat until 80% cooked. Remove and set aside.

    Lower heat to low-medium. Into wok, add another tablespoon of oil and aromatics. Fry for 10 seconds.

    Then add eggplant and pour sauce overtop.

    Quickly mix everything together until eggplant is coated in sauce. Remove off heat and enjoy!

    Cooking Tips

    Below are tips on making this spicy garlic eggplant recipe:

    Prepare ingredients ahead of time

    Ensure you have prepared your ingredients before the cooking process. The cooking process only takes 7 minutes or less.

    Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant

    Overcooking is better in this case

    Eggplant is a tricky vegetable to cook. If you undercook it, it can be digested properly. So, for purposes of health, it’s better to overcook it just to make sure it’s totally cooked.

    But we also don’t want to cook it to the point where it turns to mush. Therefore, when initially frying it in the oil, cook it to about 80%. You can tell when the eggplant flesh is less opaque or white in colour. Then cook the remaining 20% when you add it back in with the aromatics with the sauce.

    Use gentle tossing motion

    Since eggplant is also very tender and loses its shape with heat, it’s important to scoop from underneath with a wok spatula and to be GENTLE. I would recommend using the flipping motion of your forearm to toss the eggplant as the wok spatula can be a bit harsh.

    FAQ

    Below are frequently asked questions about this hot garlic eggplant recipe:

    Where can I buy Chinese Eggplant?

    Any Asian or Chinese grocer should carry this item in the produce aisle. You may also use Japanese eggplant or any eggplant that is long and slender.

    Can I use normal eggplant?

    Yes, you may but the beauty to the Chinese eggplant is that most of the flesh is covered with that gorgeous purple skin. Whereas the regular breed has more white flesh than skin. But at the end of the day, this is about taste and both breeds work fine for this recipe.

    Where can I buy Shaoxing Wine?

    Asian grocer will carry this item. If you can’t find it, substitute with dry sherry wine instead.

    Other Chinese recipes you may like!

    If you enjoyed this Chinese recipe, check out my other recipes:

    KUNG PAO CHICKEN
    GENERAL TSO CHICKEN
    BEEF AND BROCCOLI NOODLES
    ORANGE CHICKEN
    CHINESE HOISIN EGGPLANT STIR-FRY
    CHOY SUM WITH SIZZLING OIL
    CHINESE BRAISED TOFU
    SPICY GOCHUJANG SESAME TOFU

    Try it!

    Well, I hope you give my Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant recipe a try! It always excites me when you make my recipes and I hope this is one you try.

    Thanks for visiting my blog! If you enjoyed my sweet and spicy eggplant recipe, please share it with your family and friends or on social media!

    Take a picture if you've made my eggplant with spicy garlic sauce and tag me on social media @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 spicy garlic eggplant stir fry, I would appreciate it 🙂 Thanks so much!

    Take care,
    Christie

    *This post for my spicy garlic eggplant Chinese recipe contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. I also earn from qualifying purchases through additional affiliate programs

    Easy Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant (30-min)

    christieathome
    Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant. Tender eggplant cooked in a spicy, savoury garlic sauce accented with aromatic dried red chilies, green onions, and ginger. You will never want to cook eggplant any other way once you try this! This eggplant dish is ready in just 30 minutes.
    5 from 4 votes
    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Prep Time 20 mins
    Cook Time 10 mins
    Total Time 30 mins
    Course dinner, lunch, Side Dish
    Cuisine Chinese
    Servings 2
    Calories per serving 370 kcal

    Ingredients
      

    • 500 grams Chinese eggplants (or sub with Japanese eggplant or normal one will do)
    • ¼ cup cornstarch for coating
    • 5 tbsp vegetable oil or as needed
    • 10 dried red chilies dried
    • 5 slices ginger peeled
    • 1 stalk green onion finely chopped

    Sauce:

    • 2 tbsp garlic minced
    • 1 tbsp regular soy sauce not light or dark!
    • 1 tbsp dark soy sauce
    • 1 tbsp oyster sauce (for a vegan version, sub with Vegetarian Stir Fry Sauce)
    • 1 tbsp water
    • 1 tsp Shaoxing Cooking Wine
    • 1 tsp white granulated sugar
    • 1 tsp rice vinegar or white vinegar
    • ½ tbsp cornstarch
    • ½ tsp crushed red chili flakes

    Instructions
     

    • In a bowl, combine sauce ingredients.
    • Slice your unpeeled eggplant vertically into quarter long strips. Then cut the strips into 1.5-inch-long pieces. Transfer to a large bowl. Pour cornstarch over eggplant. Using your hands, coat chopped eggplant in cornstarch. Note: The cornstarch helps the sauce cling onto your eggplant.
    • In a wok or pan over medium high heat, add ¼ cup vegetable oil. Once oil is hot, add eggplant. Fry until 80% cooked. Remove from wok and set aside.
    • Lower heat to low-medium. Into wok, add 1 tbsp of oil along with dried red chilies, ginger, and green onions. Fry for 5-10 seconds.
    • Add back in eggplant. Pour sauce overtop.
    • Quickly mix until eggplant is coated in sauce. Remove off heat and enjoy!
    Enjoyed my recipe?Please leave a 5 star review (be kind)! Tag me on social media @christieathome as I'd love to see your creations!
    Copyright PolicyPlease do not copy and paste my recipes or use my photos in your own site/blog or social media. If you use my recipe for adaptation, please provide a link back to my recipe and re-write in your own words. Thank you.

    Suggested Equipment & Products

    Wok
    Santoku Knife
    Measuring Set
    Cutting Board
    Mixing bowl
    Nutrition
    Calories: 370kcal | Carbohydrates: 84g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 788mg | Potassium: 2392mg | Fiber: 25g | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 2361IU | Vitamin C: 342mg | Calcium: 118mg | Iron: 4mg
    Course dinner, lunch, Side Dish
    Cuisine Chinese
    Keyword chinese spicy garlic eggplant, eggplant in spicy garlic sauce, eggplant recipes, eggplant with garlic sauce, eggplant with spicy garlic sauce, hot garlic eggplant, how to cook spicy garlic eggplant, spicy eggplant with garlic sauce, spicy garlic eggplant chinese recipe, spicy garlic eggplant recipe, spicy garlic eggplant sauce, spicy garlic eggplant stir fry, sweet and spicy eggplant recipe
    « Kung Pao Chicken
    Crispy Soy Garlic Tofu »

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Benita

      March 03, 2022 at 6:30 pm

      5 stars
      I made this for my family and my-in laws and they all loved it! So flavourful.

      Reply
    2. Anna

      April 03, 2022 at 3:45 am

      5 stars
      Saw this on Instagram; simple and quick to make and very very very tasty. I don’t normally cook Asian (or even at all..;-) and this was a home run. Husband now wants to quit our takeout when we can make this ourselves..

      Reply
      • christieathome

        April 04, 2022 at 7:41 pm

        Haha! Thank you for making my recipe! I'm so glad you and your husband enjoyed it! Have a lovely day, Anna 🙂

        Reply
    3. Ja

      August 03, 2022 at 9:44 am

      5 stars
      Food was amazing. I threw up dinner because of dessert (edible cookie dough but I'm lactose intolerant so whoopsie) , but dinner was wicked awesome!

      Reply
      • christieathome

        August 03, 2022 at 12:26 pm

        Thanks so much for making my recipe, Ja! So glad you enjoyed it!

        Reply
    4. Lori

      September 08, 2022 at 7:05 pm

      5 stars
      Restaurant quality… even tho I didn’t have green onion!

      Reply
      • christieathome

        September 09, 2022 at 12:05 pm

        Awesome, thanks so much for making my recipe Lori!

        Reply
    5. Shawn

      January 05, 2023 at 10:00 am

      This looks delicious! I can't wait to make it. What would you serve this with? Thanks!

      Reply
      • christieathome

        January 05, 2023 at 5:34 pm

        Thank you so much! I would suggest serving it with some steamed rice and perhaps a delicious protein of your choice like my Mongolian Chicken or for a vegetarian dish Chinese Braised Tofu . Hope this helps!

        Reply

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    Christie

    Christie is an Asian Recipe Blogger sharing delicious recipes that you can make at home! Her goal is to make Asian cooking approachable and less intimidating. With a social media following of over 500k, she has been featured on Buzz Feed Tasty, Food52, The Kitchn and more! Christie's recipes have been made over and over again by her loyal readers.

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