Spicy (or Not) Chinese Eggplant
I love eggplant. Most of the time I eat it with tomato base sauces with an Italian flair. When I discovered how to make it with Chinese spices, I fell in love. I served it with brown rice noodles and tofu.
This recipe is versitile in the cooking methods of eggplant. Most of the time I just cube eggplant and put it in my airfryer for about 10 min to “roast” it. You could certainly do that instead of sauteeing it in a pan as I’ll show you in this recipe.
I decided this dish needed tofu for added protein. So THAT is what I put in my air fryer instead. I have not published a recipe for that yet. It is super simple. Cube the tofu. Put in on parchment paper in your air fryer. Set the temp to about 400F and set the timer for 10 min. Voila! Add to whatever you are serving.
But… back to eggplant. I love it! Unfortunately, it is sometimes hard to find good eggplant. I have returned lots of over ripe eggplant to the store 🙁 On the outside they look ok, but when you cut them open the inside appears brown and bruied. But I persevere, keep buying more eggplant, and this recipe was delicious!
Spicy (or Not) Chinese Eggplant
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants about 7-8 inches each
- 2 Tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Spicy (or Not) Chinese Sauce
- 3 cloves garlic pressed or chopped finely
- 2 tsp ginger fresh grated or use 1/2 tsp ground
- 1/4 cup Braggs Liquid Aminos or soy sauce or low sodium soy sauce
- 1 1/2 tsp chili garlic paste This is spicy! Use more or less depending on your heat tolerance or omit.
- 1 tsp sesame oil
- 1 Tbsp Natural Rice Vinegar unseasoned
- 2 Tbsp Honey or pure maple syrup or brown sugar or other sweetener of choice.
Brown Rice and Tofu
- 4 oz Brown Rice Noodles you may want to double this
- 14 oz extra firm tofu organic preferred
Instructions
- Chop the eggplant into larger bite size pieces. Do not peel the eggplant.
- Soak the eggplant pieces in a bowl of water with 1-2 tsp of salt added. Soak for about 20 min. This will draw water out of the eggplant so that it retains it's texture better when you cook it. While it is soaking you can make the sauce and cook the noodles then set them aside.
- After 20 minutes, drain the eggplant and pat dry with a paper towel. Now coat with the cornstarch.
- Heat up a skillet to medium high.
- Add one tsp of sesame oil (or you could try water or just dry skillet) and coat the pan. Add the eggplant. I did this in two batches, so that I did not over fill my pan. Stir or flip gently just until all sides are browned, about 6-8 minutes.
Tofu
- Pat the tofu as dry as you can. Cube it into about 24 pieces.
- Place on parchment paper in your air fryer or in your oven. Set temperature to 400. In air fryer bake about 10 minutes. In oven it will take about 20 min.
Brown Rice Noodles
- Cook according to package directions… usually 6-8 minutes. I rinse with cold water and set aside.
Sauce
- In a small bowl wisk all ingredients together and set aside.
Putting everything together.
- Remove the eggplant from the pan, but while it is still hot pour in the sauce for a quick sizzle! Immediately add the eggplant and noodles. Toss to coat everything and serve. Sprinke with red chili flakes if you want more heat.
