Get ready to take your taste buds on a journey to the Far East with this delicious recipe for Chinese-style eggplants! These eggplants are cooked to perfection in a savory sauce made with soy sauce, balsamic vinegar, garlic, and spices, and then garnished with toasted sesame seeds and green onion for an extra burst of flavor. This dish is a perfect combination of sweet, salty, tangy, and slightly spicy flavors, and it’s sure to impress your family and friends. Whether you’re a fan of Chinese cuisine or looking for a new way to enjoy eggplants, this recipe is a must-try!
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Ingredients
- 2 eggplants
- 70 ml soy sauce
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
- 1 tbsp brown sugar (or regular white sugar)
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1 tsp cornstarch (or potato starch)
- 1/3 tsp red chili pepper
- 1 green onion
- Sesame seeds
- Sesame oil
Recipe
- In a deep bowl, pour 70 ml of soy sauce.
- Press 4 cloves of garlic through a garlic press into the soy sauce.
- Add 1 tbsp of balsamic vinegar.
- Add 1 tbsp of brown sugar (or white sugar).
- Also, add 1 tsp of ground ginger and 1 tsp of cornstarch to the sauce.
- Mix the sauce well until it reaches a homogeneous consistency.
- Let the cornstarch and sugar dissolve completely in the sauce.
- If you want to make a spicy dish, now is the time to add something spicy to the sauce. I used 1/3 tsp of ground red chili pepper for a mild spiciness.
- Mix the chili pepper with all the other ingredients in the sauce.
- With the sauce ready, let’s move on to the eggplants.
- The first thing you need to do with the eggplants is wash them.
- Cut off the stem and peel off the tough skin using a vegetable peeler, which is the easiest way to do it.
- For this dish, eggplants are usually cut into elongated pieces. It’s easiest to cut them first into elongated slices, then divide them lengthwise into several long sticks, and then cut them crosswise into desired lengths. I recommend not making them longer than 2 cm.
- For garnish, we’ll need a green onion, which we’ll pre-cut into diagonal slices.
- Since we’re talking about garnish, I recommend pre-heating some sesame seeds on a dry frying pan. Don’t skip this step, as toasting sesame seeds brings out their flavor and gives them a wonderful aroma. Toast them over medium-low heat, stirring constantly, for no more than a minute. As soon as the sesame seeds turn slightly yellowish, immediately remove them from the heat to prevent burning, otherwise, it will spoil the taste of the dish.
Heat a frying pan or wok over medium heat, add some sesame oil, and then add the sliced eggplants. - Stir-fry the eggplants for about 5-7 minutes, until they are soft and slightly browned.
- Add the prepared sauce to the eggplants in the pan and stir-fry for another 2-3 minutes, until the sauce thickens and coats the eggplants evenly.
- Remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle the dish with toasted sesame seeds, and garnish with sliced green onion.
- Serve the Chinese-style eggplants hot as a delicious and flavorful side dish or a vegetarian main course. Enjoy!
