Calling all you Eggplant lovers out there! Here’s a flavor bomb you won’t want to miss – Spicy Chinese Eggplant with Szechuan Sauce -a tasty, easy vegan dinner recipe you can serve over rice, cauliflower rice, rice noodles, black rice or even quinoa!
I picked up some eggplant at the farmers market the other day thinking I would make this baked Ratatoullie Recipe, but then somehow I got a hankering for something spicier. Oops, change of plans!
I remembered a dish we had in Shanghai a few years back, and dug up my old recipe notes. There it was in BOLD – Spicy Chinese Eggplant with Szechuan Sauce with a huge star and circle around it – a reminder to share it with you!
So here it is, and boy is this tasty! I can’t wait for you to give it a go.
Another vegan dinner recipe for you to try out!
How to make Spicy Chinese Eggplant | 30-Second Video!
Why this Chinese Eggplant works!
- eggplant is crispy, not soggy
- uses the minimum amount of oil
- amazing flavor- spicy, garlicky, subtly sweet
- it is vegan!
- it’s easy!
It starts with cutting the eggplant into bite-sized pieces. Cut at a diagonal so each piece is like a triangle, about an inch thick at its thickest end.
Try to get get them roughly the same size for even cooking. Cut a wedge then turn the eggplant, cut again and turn.
TIP:
- This works best with Japanese eggplant ( long and skinny) versus globe eggplant.
Once all the eggplant are cut ( 4 x 10-inch eggplants), place in a bowl of salted water for 20 minutes.
TIP:
2. Salting the eggplant helps the eggplant soak up less oil when stir-frying.
Cover with a plate so the eggplant is submerged. Let sit 20-30 mins.
TIP:
3. Mise en place ( get things prepped and ready)
While the eggplant soaks, prep the garlic, ginger and Szechuan sauce and place them by the stove.
Drain the eggplant, rinse, then pat dry with a kitchen towel.
Then coat in cornstarch. This helps the eggplant get crispy.
TIP:
4. Sear the eggplant in an extra-large flat skillet, versus a round wok. The eggplant need a little time to cook through and get each side brown. This is difficult to do in a wok.
Then begin searing each side.
Sear them in two batches, and this is where you will need a little patience. Each batch will take about 10 minutes, and require to turn the eggplant over one by one to get each side golden.
If you are in a hurry you can use two skillets, but it can be a lot to manage.
So when the eggplant are deeply golden, even slightly charred, set them aside.
Stir fry the ginger and garlic for a quick minute then add the chilies. Make sure to have your fan on!
Keep in mind, you never eat these chilies– they just give the oil a little spicy heat, permeating the whole dish.
Then pour in the Szechuan sauce you’ve already prepped.
Cook it for 20 seconds then add the Eggplant back into the skillet, gently coating.
This will smell amazing.
Place it in a serving dish, or divide among bowls over brown rice, black rice or quinoa and top with scallions or chives and roasted peanuts.
Sometimes I’ll even top it with this Peanut Chili Crunch which adds great texture and flavor. Always nice to have on hand ( my husband looooooves this stuff!).
What I love about this Chinese Eggplant recipe is the eggplant is deliciously caramelized with crispy charred edges – the best texture!
Worth every minute you spend browning those sides.
And YES it is quite addicting!
Make this Chinese Eggplant soon, while eggplants are still available at your farmers market!
Enjoy!
And as always, if you make this, please rate and comment below. VERY Appreciated!!!
xoxo
Sylvia
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Szechuan Eggplant
- Prep Time: 20
- Cook Time: 25
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 4
- Category: Main, vegan
- Method: stovetop, stir-fry
- Cuisine: Chinese
Description
Chinese Eggplant with Szechuan Sauce with chilies and peanuts– a tasty, easy vegan dinner recipe! Serve with Rice, black rice, cauliflower rice, quinoa or rice noodles.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lbs Japanese Eggplant (about 4 x 10 inch eggplants)
- 2 teaspoons salt
- bowl of water
- —-
- 2 tablespoons cornstarch
- 2–4 tablespoons peanut oil ( or wok oil)
- —
- 4 cloves garlic, rough chopped
- 2 teaspoons ginger, finely minced
- 5–10 dried red chilies
- 1 teaspoon Szechuan peppercorns ( or sub regular peppercorns)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon garlic chili paste ( or sub 1 teaspoon chili flakes)
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 1 tablespoon Chinese cooking wine (or mirin)
- 3 tablespoons sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar, maple syrup or alternative
- 1/2 teaspoon five spice
Garnish with scallions and roasted peanuts or this Peanut Chili crunch
Instructions
- Cut eggplant into 1/2 inch thick half-moons or into bite-sized pieces ( see photos). Place in a big bowl covered with water and stir in 2 teaspoons salt. Cover with a plate and let stand 20-30 minutes.
- In the meantime, chop the garlic and ginger and make the Szechuan Sauce.
- To make the Szechuan Sauce: Toast the Szechuan peppercorns in a dry skillet over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Crush. Place these along with the remaining ingredients ( soy, chili paste, sesame oil, rice vinegar, Chinese cooking wine, sugar, and five spice) in a small bowl and whisk. Set by the stove.
- Drain and rinse the eggplant and pat dry with a towel. Toss with the corn starch.
- Working in 2 batches, heat 1 -2 tablespoons oil in an extra-large skillet over medium heat. Add half the eggplant spreading them out. You want to get both sides nice and golden, and the insides cooked through -so take your time here and dont rush this step. Let one side brown then turn them over using tongs. This will take about 10 minutes for each batch. ( If in a hurry sometimes I’ll use 2 pans.) Set the eggplant aside.
- Add 1 more tablespoon oil to the skillet, and over medium heat, add the garlic and ginger, stirring for 2 minutes. Turn the fan on, add the dried chilis and stir one minute. Pour the Szechuan sauce into the pan and bring to a simmer for 20 seconds. Add the eggplant back into the skillet, tossing gently for about 1 minute. If it seems dry add a tablespoon of water to loosen.
- Place in a serving dish and top with scallions and optional peanuts.
- Serve with rice, cauliflower rice, black rice or rice noodles.
Notes
Be patient browning each side of the eggplant. This will take a little time but reward you greatly.
I’ve found that the flat surface of a skillet, verses using a wok is much easier to use to get those sides golden.
Feel free to sub cashews for the peanuts, of leave off completely.
Keywords: Szechuan eggplant, stir fry eggplant, Chinese eggplant, stir fried eggplant, Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce
Wow, thanks! I came into a bounty of fresh- from- the- garden eggplants and was looking for new ideas. This recipe was delicious, prepared with seared tofu and black rice noodles. I used mirin, so I omitted the extra sugar and it still tasted great! Love the umami flavors that permeate the dish with the use of 5 spice. This recipe is now a regular in my meatless meals rotation.
★★★★★
Hi,
The technique of preparing the eggplant by soaking it in salted water, then coating the pieces with cornstarch really created a great crunchy texture, although I found the recipe to be very time consuming for me. The sauce was great tasting, but could have been hotter (spicier), and although perhaps Szechuan sauces are not to be thickened, I would have preferred that it have more body, or thickening. Also, how do you keep the eggplant crisp when reheating, except by more pan heating with direct heat which may overcook the pieces?
★★★
You can always make the sauce spicier to taste. Reheating is tricky. I’ve reheated in the oven, single layer, no lid at 375F. It’s still not as crispy when you first make it.
Delicious but a tad too sweet. Will cut to 1.5 T next time.
★★★★★
DELICIOUS! spicy, but I like spice and would be easy enough to leave some of that stuff out.
★★★★★
Thank you, Sylvia! It was an excellent idea transforming my ordinary eggplants into a sophisticated Chinese dinner. Very tasty! Thank you for the tip about corn starch – it is much better than the flour that I always used.
I made this recipe last night it is so flavorful and it’s actually really easy to do except for the browning of the eggplant pieces. I wonder if you can roast the egg plant instead if there is time just a thought but either way the crunch on the egg plant I agree is very important.
I haven’t tried roasting it, but I Like the idea of it!
This was an amazing recipe! Might become weekly favorite!
Glad you liked the Chinese Eggplant Lauri!
I made this recipe without any changes and it turned out wonderfully! Was a big hit with the family and will certainly make it again.
★★★★★
My family & I loved this recipe! I added fresh green beans and it was delicious.
Thank you for sharing the recipe!
★★★★★
Great to hear!
Even though I made a number of errors in the making process it still turned out great. Everyone loved it. I will definitely make it again.
★★★★★
This recipe is soooo delicious! I didn’t have dried chili peppers so I googled how to substitute. Paprika and cayenne pepper! So easy!
Will definitely make this again. The flavors were right on!
★★★★★
Great to hear 🙌
I happened to have szechuan peppercorns on hand, and garden fresh eggplant. It turned out delicious! Great recipe.
★★★★★
Delicious! I used one large eggplant instead. I ended up using a tablespoon of chili garlic sauce, 4 tablespoons of store-bought Szechuan sauce, and 1 additional tablespoon of corn starch to make everything work. I love this recipe because every bite is a little bit different!
This one’s a keeper, as we say while gushing over a new delicious dish! Added mushrooms and served with soft tofu. It was wonderful. Thank you!
I did have a problem cooking the eggplant, tho’. It stuck to the bottom of the pan like crazy. I used a large flat bottom skillet. Not enough oil? Pan too hot? Any advice on that? Next time, I’ll do it in the cast iron skillet – maybe that will make a difference?
Perhaps try adding a little more oil, and letting it brown a little longer, so it forms a crust before trying to move. It should naturally release from the pan as it gets golden- if you don’t try to move it too much or too early. 🙂
Excellent. Best ever. I will make this again and experiment with different vegetables and proteins.
★★★★★
Delish!
★★★★★
hi there. making this today looks so so good have everything but main ingredient eggplant. What ta do. got fresh just picked Goo Gootza ,,,uh. Rampicante. Italian. so goin in with that. will post results tomorrow ,,so excited to try this recipe ,,,,ya done good
★★★★★
THnaks Joseph!
Best eggplant recipe I ever had!! I am a fan of dishes with heat and love Asian food and this recipe delivered! Made as directed and enjoyed the finished product so much. A keeper. Thank you!!
★★★★★
One of the best recipes I’ve made lately, and the eggplant is so good! Thank you!
★★★★★
I amended the recipe a little, because my hubby doesn’t like too spicy, so I left off the red chilis and the chili paste. Added a few drops of hot oil instead. For next time I think I will cut down on the sweetener agent. Used sugar and maple syrup combo. Most of the work is watching the eggplant browns nicely, but doesn’t burn. Turned out to be delicious. Definitely a keeper.
★★★★
Great to hear, glad you liked it!
This was fabulous! Better than any restaurant. The sauce is super flavorful and pungent, so have plenty of white rice on hand.
★★★★★
Great to hear Laura!
This sounds delicious! Any proteins you recommend serving it with?
Black pepper Tofu? 😉
I love eggplant but could never cook well. Thanks to this recipe I now can!
★★★★★
Thanks, glad you liked it! 🙌
This recipe is absolutely delicious! I lived in Chengdu, Sichuan and this dish seriously took me back. Very authentic. Fried 2 eggplants and 1/3 block of extra firm tofu in a cast iron skillet, and it was the perfect amount of sauciness, crispiness, and so much flavour! Consider this recipe bookmarked. Thank you!
★★★★★
Yay!🙌
Totally amazing dish! My kids actually ate eggplant which was a first! I added some tofu, chicken, beans and shiitake mushrooms and we seriously thought we were in a restaurant. Just discovered your site and am loving all the vibrant, healthy and tasty recipes!
★★★★★
Awesome, great to hear Inga! 🙌
Easy and delicious, I added some left over toast pork I had in the fridge and added extra chili oil and red pepper because I enjoy the heat. Thank you!
★★★★★
sounds perfect! 👌
Delicious! But for next time I would definitely double on the sauce as I like mine dripping in sauce over jasmine rice.
★★★★★
I’ve attempted this dish several times since we started quar-quar and this is hands down the best one yet! Salting eggplant is alway key, but i hadn’t added the cornstarch before, and it was perfect! the sauce was easy to come together and the flavors were great!
★★★★★
Awesome Cecilia – glad you liked it! 🙌
Delicious and easy to make. Really enjoyed the sticky aubergine with plain Jasmine rice.
★★★★★
Thank you! I’ll never eat soggy, oily eggplant, again, thanks to you! I was worried that it would get soggy when I mixed it back in the pan with the sauce but, nope, it held its texture through the whole meal!
★★★★★
Haha! YAY.Thanks Erin! Appreciate this! 🙌