Tender eggplant cooked in a spicy, savoury garlic sauce with aromatic red chilies, green onions, and ginger. This quick and easy Chinese spicy garlic eggplant is made in 30 minutes and restaurant-quality! A veggie side dish for all the eggplant lovers!
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Spicy garlic eggplant features Chinese eggplant coated in starch and fried, then stir-fried with dried red chilis, ginger, and scallions in a spicy savory sauce with garlic!
This Asian eggplant dish is served at Chinese restaurants and it's a favorite for many thanks to its delicious and complex flavors! You can easily make this at home and the results are remarkably similar to takeout.
This vegetable dish is best served with steamed rice and a protein of your choice. Also, it's tasty way to add vegetables to your diet, without it feeling like a chore!
The best part about my easy eggplant recipe is that it comes together quickly in under 30 minutes in one-pan and it's a crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients & Substitutes
Please scroll down to below recipe card for exact measurements.
- Chinese Eggplant: or substitute with Japanese Eggplant. Asian-style eggplants are longer and slender in shape compared to regular eggplant and are sold at most Asian grocery stores. As a last resort, substitute with regular seedless eggplant.
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch or arrowroot starch. Avoid using tapioca starch as it causes the eggplant to stick together in the pan.
- Neutral Oil: like avocado oil, sunflower oil, grapeseed oil, peanut oil, vegetable oil or canola oil. Avoid olive oil, coconut oil or any heavy scented oils.
- Ginger: or substitute with ground ginger.
- Green Onion: or substitute with 1 shallot or 2 tablespoon onion finely chopped.
- Dried Whole Red Chili Peppers: or substitute with fresh red chilies. For a milder version, substitute with bell peppers. For extra spicy, substitute with bird's eye red chili.
Sauce
- Garlic: or substitute with garlic powder.
- Regular Soy Sauce: or substitute with low sodium soy sauce or light soy sauce. If you’re gluten-free, substitute with tamari sauce, coconut aminos or a gluten-free soy sauce of your choice.
- Dark soy sauce: this is thicker and darker than regular soy sauce.
- Oyster sauce: this is a thick brown sauce made of oysters that adds a lot of umami flavor. Or substitute with vegetarian stir-fry sauce. If you're gluten-free: substitute with a gluten-free version.
- Water: room temperature or cold.
- Shaoxing wine: a Chinese rice cooking wine. Or substitute with Dry Sherry, cooking sake or dry white wine. For a non-alcoholic or gluten-free version, substitute with chicken broth.
- White Granulated Sugar: or substitute with cane sugar.
- Rice Vinegar: or substitute with white or apple cider vinegar.
- Cornstarch: or substitute with potato starch or arrowroot starch.
- Crushed Red Chili Flakes: or substitute red pepper flakes like gochugaru. As a last resort, substitute with chili garlic sauce or chili oil to taste.
Note: Most Asian grocery stores will carry these ingredients. You may find some at your select grocery store or online, like on Amazon.
Expert Tips
- Source fresh eggplant with a vibrant and firm purple skin. Avoid eggplant that is wrinkly looking or discolored.
- Cut the eggplant into evenly-sized pieces so they can cook consistently.
- Prepare the ingredients in advance because the cooking process is fast.
- Make sure to cook the eggplant through when you toss in the sauce because undercooked eggplant has an unpleasant taste and can lead to digestive issues.
- Be gentle when stir frying the eggplant with the sauce and use two spatulas to help you lift the eggplant from the bottom.
Instructions
Below are step-by-step instructions on how to make Chinese spicy garlic eggplant:
- In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Slice the unpeeled eggplant vertically into four quarters so you have four strips. Then cut the strips into 2-inch-long pieces and transfer into a large mixing bowl. Add cornstarch and toss eggplant into the starch until evenly coated.
- Heat ¼ cup or 60 ml vegetable oil medium-high heat in a large pan. Gently fry coated eggplant until tender, about 90% cooked. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce to low-medium heat. Add remaining vegetable oil and sauté ginger, red chilis and green onions for 10 seconds.
- Add eggplant followed by the sauce and gently toss everything together. Remove off heat and enjoy!
Storage
- Leftovers will last up to 4 days stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
- Freezer friendly? I don't recommend freezing spicy garlic eggplant because the eggplant will become mushy.
Pairing Suggestions
Chinese spicy garlic eggplant serves well with:
- starters like egg rolls, crab rangoons, egg drop soup, hot and sour soup
- white or brown rice, cauliflower rice, or fried rice
- chow mein, lo mein, plain noodles, soup noodles
- protein dishes like Mongolian Chicken, Mongolian Beef, Honey Walnut Shrimp, Bang Bang Shrimp, Shrimp Omelet, Soy Garlic Tofu, and more!
FAQ
Chinese spicy garlic eggplant can be made up to 4 days in advance and stored into an airtight container in the fridge. To reheat: microwave for 2-3 minutes until hot or reheat in a pan on medium heat.
Chinese eggplant tastes slightly sweeter and less bitter, since it's completely seedless.
Chinese eggplant is slender, long with a vibrant purple skin. It looks like the image below. 
📖 Recipe
Quick & Easy Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chinese eggplants or Japanese eggplant or regular eggplant
- ¼ cup cornstarch or potato starch
- 5 tablespoon vegetable oil or any neutral oil
- 10 dried red chilies or 2 chopped fresh red chilies
- 5 slices ginger peeled
- 1 green onion finely chopped
Sauce
- 3 garlic cloves minced
- 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce or vegetarian stir-fry sauce
- 1 tablespoon water cold
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine or dry sherry wine or dry white wine or broth
- 1 teaspoon white granulated sugar or cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon rice vinegar or white vinegar or apple cider vinegar
- ½ tablespoon cornstarch or potato starch
- ½ teaspoon crushed red chili flakes or chili oil or chili garlic sauce to taste
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the sauce ingredients as listed above and set aside.
- Slice the unpeeled eggplant vertically into four quarters so you have four strips. Then cut the strips into 2-inch-long pieces and transfer into a large mixing bowl. Add cornstarch and toss eggplant into the starch until evenly coated.
- Heat ¼ cup or 60 ml vegetable oil medium-high heat in a large pan. Gently fry coated eggplant until tender, about 90% cooked. Remove and set aside.
- Reduce to low-medium heat. Add remaining vegetable oil and sauté ginger, red chilis and green onions for 10 seconds.
- Add eggplant followed by the sauce and gently toss everything together. Remove off heat and enjoy!
Barbara Saito
Great recipe! I think I've tried 5 recipes for this dish, and yours is the best by far! Thank you.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe so many times! This really made my day 🙂
Janine
I really enjoyed your explanations of the ingredients and the process. I recently visited my favorite Chinese rest. in San Francisco and had my favorite Spicy Eggplant. Your recipe was even better than the rest. It was a bit more salty than I like but will adjust the sauce next time. I was able to thin it down by serving rice and I had added a small zucchini at the end of the recipe. I look forward to making this again. And, I'm checking out your other recipes. Thanks.
Christie Lai
Thank you so much for making my recipe and so glad you found it better than the restaurant! Appreciate your sharing your experience. I hope you enjoy my other recipes!
Violetta
YES! LOVED IT! This is my mother’s favorite dish when we go to our favorite Chinese Restaurant. My mother said this was much tastier!
I didn’t have dark soy sauce so I just doubled the quantity of regular soy sauce and I didn’t have the wine so just added additional tsp water and 1/4 tsp sugar and added 1 tsp Hoisin sauce. I plan on making this often. Thank you!
Christie Lai
I am so thrilled to read this, Violetta! Thank you so much for making my recipe and sharing your positive experience here with the simple substitutes! Happy to hear your mom thinks my version is tastier. Have a lovely day!
Meir
I made an eggplant / air fried tofu dish with these sauce measurements and it was delicious!
Christie Lai
Thanks so much for making my recipe with the addition of tofu, Meir! Glad you enjoyed it!
Arja
Greetings from Nordic Country Finland from northern Europe. Me and my twin sister just made your Quick and Easy Chinese Spicy Garlic Eggplant. It was really lovely, Thank you!
christieathome
Greetings! Thank you so much for making my eggplant recipe and for leaving such a kind review! So glad you and your sister enjoyed it, Arja. Have a lovely day!
Lori
Love this dish! Can't wait to make it....
christieathome
Thank you so much Lori! I hope you enjoy it! 🙂
Kitty
Wow I just made them n they're soooooo yummmy! Thank you!
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Kitty! Thrilled that you found this dish so yummy 🙂
Sonia Dudnic Sreedharan
This recipe was bang on. The best eggplant recipe. I followed the recipe exactly and it was delicious. A definite keeper!
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Sonia and happy it's now a keeper 🙂
Danuta Wojtalik
This is the most incredible eggplant dish I ever had. I have to qualify my statement by saying that I have tried eggplant dishes for over 50 years and came to the conclusion that I hated eggplant. I am now buying eggplant and making this dish for myself. What an incredible find. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
christieathome
Thank you so much Danuta! I am so happy to read this and glad you can now enjoy it 🙂 Have a lovely day!
Beverley
This has become a favourite in our household. Just two of us so we have it with rice as a main course. I don’t add the sugar or cornflour to the sauce. If I don’t have shoaxing wine I substitute with mirin. Recipe works all the time.
christieathome
Thank you so much for making my recipe Beverely! Glad it works out every time 🙂
Shawn
This looks delicious! I can't wait to make it. What would you serve this with? Thanks!
christieathome
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!
Lori
Restaurant quality… even tho I didn’t have green onion!
christieathome
Awesome, thanks so much for making my recipe Lori!
Ja
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!
christieathome
Thanks so much for making my recipe, Ja! So glad you enjoyed it!
Olympia
What are proportions for the sauce?
Christie Lai
All the proportions can be found by clicking here.
Anna
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..
christieathome
Haha! Thank you for making my recipe! I'm so glad you and your husband enjoyed it! Have a lovely day, Anna 🙂
Benita
I made this for my family and my-in laws and they all loved it! So flavourful.