Creamy and luscious, stir-fried eggplant with plum sauce is a dish to die for. This recipe shows you how to achieve the desired texture using a minimum of oil.
I almost forgot about plum sauce until the other day a mouth-watering chicken recipe reminded me of this versatile Chinese condiment. It used to be my favourite sauce for eggplant stir-fry.
Last weekend I found some super fresh eggplant at an outdoor market and a jar of plum sauce in the supermarket. We had Stir-fried eggplant with plum sauce (苏梅酱茄子) three days in a row! It was so delicious!
The deep-frying dilemma
I have very sweet memories of eggplant. I remember watching my dad cooking this deep purple vegetable in our tiny kitchen. He would firstly coat it with flour batter and a little ground Sichuan pepper. Then deep-fry it before stir-frying it with garlic, soy sauce, rice wine, etc. He’d always pick up one piece with chopsticks, then gently put in my mouth to taste. I still have a vivid recollection of the simple pleasure I got in those precious moments.
However, as I grew older, deep-fried eggplant became nothing more than a childhood memory, simply because deep-frying is not my preferred cooking method, and I always try to reduce the volume of oil in dishes as much as possible.
Eggplant is, unfortunately, a vegetable often cooked in quite a lot of oil in order to achieve a softer, creamier texture. If stir-fried with just a little oil, it often stays hard and rubbery, very unpleasant to eat.
The pre-cooking method
For me, it was a real dilemma until I discovered two methods to change the texture of eggplant by pre-cooking it before stir-frying.
- Firstly, I tried steaming and it worked! If you get the timing right, eggplant pieces will come out soft but not too mushy. You might find it a bit watery, but the moisture will be easily evaporated during stir-frying.
- The second method it to microwave, which will give eggplant a nice texture and is less watery than steaming. It is worth noting that you need to cook the chunks in small volumes each time otherwise you might find them softened unevenly. With pre-cooked eggplant in hand, what you need is just one tablespoon of oil for making this scrumptious dish.
A great sauce to season
Apart from a creamy texture, a rich sauce is the other key to a delicious eggplant stirfry. Plum sauce is often used as a dipping sauce for deep-fried dishes like spring rolls. It’s sweet, fruity, vinegary and a little spicy. I find it ideal for vegetables like eggplant which doesn’t have a distinct taste on its own.
I also use lots of garlic in my recipe as it’s the classic company for eggplant. Other ingredients, such as soy sauce, rice wine, ginger and scallions, are used to balance the sweetness of the plum sauce and to create a more sophisticated flavour. Adding an extra zing to this dish, fresh chilli is optional but highly recommended.
Stir-fried eggplant with plum sauce (苏梅酱茄子)
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant, cut into chunks - about 400g/14oz
- 1 tablespoon cooking oil
- 1½ tablespoon Chinese plum sauce - 苏梅酱
- 2 teaspoon light soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon Shaoxing rice wine
- 1 teaspoon water
- 5 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 teaspoon minced ginger
- 2 stalk scallion, chopped
- Fresh chilli, chopped - to taste
Instructions
Pre-cook the eggplant (see note 1)
- Option A: Steaming. Boil the water first then place the eggplant chunks into the steamer. Cook for 3-4 mins. Discard any water.
- Option B: Using a microwave. Place the eggplant chunks evenly on a plate in a single layer. Microwave on full power for 2 minutes. You'll need to cook them in two batches (see note 2).
Stir-fry the dish
- Mix plum sauce, soy sauce, rice wine and water. Set aside.
- Heat up oil in a wok (or a deep frying pan) over high heat. Add ginger and garlic, let it sizzle for 10 seconds or so. Then put the eggplant in. Stir from time to time until it becomes a little brown.
- Turn the heat down to low. Pour the sauce then sprinkle scallions and chilli over the aubergine. Stir until the eggplant is evenly coated with the sauce. Serve immediately with plain rice.
NOTES
NUTRITION DISCLOSURE: Nutritional information on this website is provided as a courtesy to readers. It should be considered estimates. Please use your own brand nutritional values or your preferred nutrition calculator to double check against our estimates.
Is this recipe for skinny, Asian eggplants or the large purple, globe eggplants?
Both types would work for this recipe. Happy cooking!
The best eggplant recipe ever!!!! I would order this again and again, but…oh wait! this recipe is so easy i can do this at home! Thank you!
My pleasure to share! So happy you liked the dish.
In an effort to simplify life and to really minimize the amount of oil used, I used a foil pouch in the oven and other than chopping it up, I did nothing else to tenderize the eggplant which is steamed in the pouch.
I followed the recipe, including all the same ingredients except for the oil. Just put everything into a foil pouch and then poured the plum sauce and other wet ingredients over top. Tightly sealed the pouch. Put the closed pouch in the oven (30-40 minutes at 350F; the longer you cook, the softer the eggplant will be). Carefully opening the pouch, pour the contents into a bowl getting as much of the slightly caramelized plum sauce from the bottom of the pouch as possible, and stir gently to fully coat the eggplant before serving.
A very interesting alternative method. Thank you for sharing your idea Richard!
My mouth was watering the whole time from the first picture to the last word of the recipe…and its still watering:))
Haha! Sorry for making you hungry 🙂
OMG…this is to die for. My all time favourite vegetable…I’ll never make it any other way…
Thank you again for a delicious recipe.
You are welcome Claude. Glad that you like it. Happy cooking!
Can you let me know the Chinese name for plum sauce? I am currently living in China and cannot seem to find it! Your recipes are saving me, cooking in China, by the way! LOVE THEM! Thank you!!!
Hi! Thank you for your kind message. The Chinese name of plum sauce is 苏梅酱 (Su Mei Jiang). Hope you will find it. Happy cooking!
Hi Wel. I just love egg plants. I don’t know what it is about them. But get the cooking right and you have heaven on your plate. I like the idea of cooking the ? in the microwave. Cheers Peter
I agree with you Peter! Eggplants are so delicious if you get it right. Just make sure you microwave the pieces in batches otherwise they might be cooked unevenly. Will definitely write more recipes using eggplants. Stay tuned!
This looks incredible Wei!! And you’re right – aubergines become creamy inside, I LOVE it 🙂 Pinning!!
Thank you so much Nagi! When you get it right, aubergine is divine! Have a great day! BTW, congratulations on your workshop yesterday! I wish I was there…