I love eating eggplant, especially when it’s drenched in a flavorful spicy sauce. This spicy eggplant stir fry is inspired by a popular Sichuan dish, 鱼香茄子 or “fish-fragrant eggplant” (pronounced yu xiang qie zi in Mandarin; yu heung keh zee in Cantonese). To make fish-fragrant eggplant, eggplant pieces are often mixed with cornstarch before they’re fried briefly in oil. Then, you would prepare a sauce by stir frying ground pork along with a spicy sauce or bean paste (often doubanjiang), spices, sugar, and vinegar. Finally, the fried eggplant is tossed with the sauce.
I wanted to make a spicy eggplant dish that was simpler than 鱼香茄子 but didn’t compromise on flavor. I omitted the pork and vinegar and reduced the amount of sugar that’s typical in fish-fragrant eggplant recipes. Even with these modifications, the dish gets plenty of flavor from doubanjiang, garlic, ginger, and gochugaru. I can eat this spicy eggplant with just a plain bowl of jasmine rice for dinner any day. It is an absolute delight!
COOKING NOTES FOR SPICY STIR-FRIED EGGPLANT
USING CHINESE OR JAPANESE EGGPLANT
For this dish, you’ll want to use 2 to 3 long Chinese or Japanese eggplant (about 1 pound). The eggplant in the photo above are Chinese eggplant, as they have a lighter purple skin. Japanese eggplant are similar in shape but have a darker purple color. Sometimes, these varieties of eggplant are labeled as “Asian eggplant” in grocery stores. I prefer cooking with them because the seeds aren’t too tough and they generally don’t taste bitter.
NO NEED TO SALT EGGPLANT
If you’re using Chinese or Japanese eggplant, you do not need to salt the eggplant before cooking with them. Many recipes that use larger globe recommend salting them for several reasons. Salting the eggplant can draw out moisture and mask the bitterness of those varieties of eggplant. As mentioned above, Chinese or Japanese eggplant aren’t usually bitter, so I do not bother salting them. Furthermore, Chinese eggplant has a subtle sweet flavor, which gets lost if you generously salt the eggplant beforehand.
SHALLOW FRYING EGGPLANT
In this recipe, I shallow fry the eggplant pieces in 3/4 cup of neutral-flavored oil for about a minute. Shallow frying the eggplant for a short period cooks the eggplant without turning it mushy. It’s also the best method for preserving the vibrant purple color of the eggplant skin, making the finished dish more visually appealing.
After frying the eggplant, you’ll use some of the remaining oil to prepare the sauce. Refrigerate any additional oil that’s leftover and use it for general cooking; it’ll keep for up to 2 weeks.
ALTERNATIVE METHODS FOR COOKING EGGPLANT
Pan Frying: For those of you who don’t like frying foods in a lot of oil, you can pan fry the eggplant over medium-high heat, until golden. As you can see in the photo above (left), pan frying will brown the eggplant skin. Another thing to note is that eggplant absorbs oil like a sponge. Even if you are pan-frying eggplant, don’t be frugal with the oil. Otherwise, the eggplant might come out dry.
In the past, I have pan-fried eggplant with water to avoid using excessive oil. I would pan fry the eggplant with a little oil first. Once the eggplant absorbed all the oil, I added water to finish cooking the eggplant. The problem was that the water made the eggplant grayish and a little mushy for my taste (see photo above, right). That’s why I don’t usually cook eggplant that way anymore.
Air Frying: When I’m not in the mood to fry eggplant, I like to cook them in an air fryer because the cooking process is very hands off. Preheat the air fryer to 350ºF (175ºC). Toss the eggplant with 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil (any vegetable or olive oil works). Working in two batches, cook the eggplant for 5 to 6 minutes, until the eggplant pieces are golden. The disadvantage of this cooking method is that the eggplant skins turn quite brown during the cooking process (see photo above, right). Don’t worry, the browning doesn’t affect the flavor of the eggplant.
Steaming: Some people, like my sister, prefer to steam eggplant. Steam the eggplant pieces for about 5 to 6 minutes, until soft (see photo above, left). The benefit of steaming is that you don’t have to use additional oil to cook the eggplant. Also, the skins retain a nice purple color. However, the texture of the eggplant is incredibly soft and mushy, which I don’t like for this particular dish. Be very careful when you toss the steamed eggplant in the sauce.
SPECIAL INGREDIENTS FOR SAUCE
Doubanjiang: This recipe relies on doubanjiang (豆瓣酱/豆瓣醬), a Sichuan-style fermented broad bean chili sauce/paste. There are many different brands of doubanjiang that you may find (see photo above). Note that the level of spice and saltiness can vary across different brands. Before using the sauce, taste it and assess the spice level. If it seems quite spicy (and you are spice averse), use less for the sauce. You can usually find doubanjiang in Asian grocery stores or on Amazon.
Sichuan Peppercorns: I also added red Sichuan peppercorn for the sauce because I like the floral notes of the peppercorn. Sichuan peppercorn also has a slight tongue-numbing sensation, especially when you eat large quantities of it. You can usually find Sichuan peppercorns at Chinese grocery stores, on Amazon (affiliate link), the Mala Market, or Fly By Jing. Note that red Sichuan peppercorns are different from the green ones. The green peppercorns have a much grassier flavor profile. You can leave out the Sichuan peppercorn if you don’t have any.
To prepare the peppercorns, I generally grind them with a pestle and mortar. The tough husks won’t break down completely, so sift the ground peppercorn through a mesh strainer. If you grind the peppercorns in a spice grinder, the husks should break down more.
Chili Flakes: For additional bright flavor, I also add chili flakes to the sauce. I’ve cooked this spicy eggplant dish using either gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes) or the Guntur Sannam Chilli from Diaspora Co. Both of these chili flakes have a bright, almost fruity flavor and a relatively low spice level. You can also use Aleppo pepper, though they tend to be a bit spicier.
WHAT TO SERVE WITH SPICY EGGPLANT STIR FRY
- Jasmine Rice
- Egg Fried Rice
- Smashed Cucumber Salad
- Teriyaki Tofu
- Honey Chili Garlic Shrimp
- Stir-Fried Shredded Potatoes
Spicy Eggplant Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 1 pound (454g) Chinese or Japanese eggplant (see note 1)
- 3/4 cup (175mL) canola oil or any neutral oil
- 1/2 cup (120mL) water
- 1/4 teaspoon cornstarch
- 2 teaspoons Sichuan peppercorn optional (see note 2)
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 tablespoons doubanjiang (see note 3)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes) (see note 4)
- 2 teaspoons sugar (see note 5)
- 1/2 teaspoon (2g) kosher salt or 1/4 teaspoon sea salt add more to taste
- sliced scallions for garnish
- toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
Cook Eggplant
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Slice the eggplant into 2.5 to 3-inch sections. Then, slice each section into batons (or strips) that are about 1/4 to 1/2-inch thick. You don’t need to salt the eggplant for this recipe (see note 6 for more info). Set the eggplant aside.
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Add 3/4 cup of oil to a wok and heat it over medium-high heat (see note 6). Once the temperature reaches about 350ºF to 360ºF (175ºC to 180ºC), it is ready for frying. You can test the temperature with a thermometer or by taking a small piece of eggplant and adding it to the wok. If the oil around the eggplant bubbles rapidly, the oil is ready for frying.
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Working in batches, add a large handful of eggplant batons to the wok. Fry for about 1 to 2 minutes, flipping the eggplant halfway. Using tongs, transfer the eggplant batons into a spider spatula. Give the spider spatula a gentle shake to shake off any excess oil from the eggplant. Then, transfer the flash-fried eggplant to a plate and flash fry another batch of eggplant batons. Eggplant absorbs oil like a sponge. After about 2 or 3 batches of frying, you’ll notice that there’s less oil in the wok. As a result, you’ll want to fry in smaller batches for the remaining eggplant. You can also add more oil to the wok.
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Once all the eggplant has been cooked, turn off the heat. Pour some of the excess oil into a heat-safe bowl, leaving about 2 tablespoons of oil in the wok. (See note 7)
Prepare Sauce
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In a small bowl, make a cornstarch slurry by whisking the water with the cornstarch. This slurry will thicken the sauce later.
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Pour the Sichuan peppercorns into a bowl. Pick out any small twigs or tiny black seeds. The seeds are bitter and inedible, so don’t bother grinding them.
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Using a pestle and mortar, grind the Sichuan peppercorns until they turn into powder and you can no longer grind the husks any further. The husks won’t break down further and have a tough texture. Sift out the husks through a mesh strainer. You should now have about 1/2 teaspoon of ground peppercorn powder.
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Heat the wok (with the 2 tablespoons oil in it) over medium-high heat again. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for about 30 seconds to 1 minute, until fragrant. Next, add the doubanjiang and stir. Cook for another 30 seconds. Then, add the ground Sichuan peppercorn, gochugaru, sugar, and salt. Stir to combine.
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Whisk the cornstarch slurry again to loosen any starch that settled to the bottom of the bowl. Pour the slurry into the wok. Bring the liquid to a rapid boil and let the sauce simmer for 30 seconds to a minute to allow the sauce to thicken slightly.
Toss Eggplant with Sauce
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Add all the eggplant back into the wok and stir to combine with the sauce. Turn off the heat and transfer the eggplant to a serving plate. Garnish the spicy eggplant with sliced scallions and toasted sesame seeds, if desired. Serve the spicy eggplant stir fry with jasmine rice or brown rice.
Notes
- Chinese or Japanese eggplant are long eggplant with relatively tender seeds (see photo in the post for a visual reference). It is fine if the amount of eggplant you have is slightly over a pound. However, you don’t want to go too much over 18 to 20 ounces, as there won’t be enough sauce to season the eggplant well.
- Green Sichuan peppercorns are not the same as the red ones. Green peppercorns have a grassy flavor. In the original version of this recipe, I used 1 teaspoon of Sichuan peppercorns, ground it, but didn’t sift out the husks. This also yielded about 1/2 teaspoon of ground peppercorns (with the husks). However, I always sift out the husks nowadays, and recommend starting with 2 teaspoons of peppercorns for this recipe.
- Doubanjiang: The spice level of doubanjiang (a salty fermented broad bean sauce) varies across brands. If you’ve never cooked with doubanjiang before, taste it first. If it seems very spicy, you’ll probably only want to use 1 tablespoon of it. If the spice level is on the low to medium spice range, use 2 tablespoons of it. Wondering what to do with leftover doubanjiang? Use it to make my mapo tofu, mapo chickpeas with potatoes, or spicy peanut noodles.
- Gochugaru is Korean pepper flakes that have a bright flavor and relatively low level of spice. You can substitute it with Diaspora Co’s Guntur Sannam Chilli or Aleppo pepper. Note that Aleppo pepper tends to be more spicy, so you may want to use less of it in the sauce.
- The sugar balances out the flavors of the fermented flavors of the doubanjiang. If you want to avoid using additional sugars, you can omit it.
- Using a saucepan to cook eggplant: If you don’t have a wok, you can fry the eggplant in a saucepan but in smaller batches. You can also use a large pan to fry the eggplant, but you’ll likely need to use more oil so that the amount of oil is deep enough for frying.
- What to do with leftover oil: I usually reuse the oil that I used to fry eggplant. Strain out any seeds or brown bits from the oil and then transfer it to a jar. Refrigerate and use within 2 weeks.
- Pan-frying directions: If you want to avoid frying the eggplant, you can pan fry the eggplant in a large pan over medium-high heat. Eggplant absorbs oil quickly, so use a generous amount of oil when pan-frying. Pan fry the eggplant for about 1 to 2 minutes and then flip over the pieces to pan fry the other side for another minute or so, until golden.
- Air-frying directions: Preheat the air fryer to 350ºF (175ºC). Toss the eggplant with 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil (any vegetable or olive oil works). Working in two batches, cook the eggplant for 5 to 6 minutes, until the eggplant pieces are golden.
- Steaming directions: Steam the eggplant in a bamboo steamer lined with parchment paper for 5 to 6 minutes, until the eggplant is soft. I think the eggplant turns too soft for this particular recipe, but it’s a good method if you don’t want to consume as much oil. Be very careful when you toss the steamed eggplant with the sauce.
- The nutrition information below is a rough estimate because it’s difficult to measure how much oil is absorbed into the eggplant during the flash frying process.
Nutrition
Note: This recipe was originally published in October 2020. I have updated the post and recipe to explain different cooking methods and using different ingredients.
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