For you eggplant lovers or just those looking to try a new recipe in the realm of Chinese food, you’ve gotta give this Chinese Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce a shot. This dish may be a staple of Chinese restaurants, but wait until you try making it at home. The eggplant turns out so tender and succulent, it practically melts in your mouth with each bite. And the spicy garlic sauce? It’s absolutely addictive! Whether it’s your first time cooking with eggplant or you’re a seasoned pro, this recipe is bound to become a go-to. It’s quick, easy, and trust me, the next time you crave something uniquely tasty, you’ll be reaching for this recipe again!
Why This Chinese Eggplant Recipe Is So Good
- Inspired by the Best: This isn’t just any delicious Chinese eggplant recipe; it’s inspired by the culinary expertise of Fuchsia Dunlop, one of the most respected authorities in Chinese cooking. It’s like having a masterclass in traditional recipes, right in your kitchen.
- Versatility in Ingredients: What’s great about this recipe is its flexibility with the ingredient list. Whether you have Japanese, Chinese, Italian, or even globe eggplants on hand, this dish will turn out beautifully. It’s one of my favorite ways to showcase how versatile eggplant can be.
- A Sauce Like No Other: The garlic sauce recipe in this Chinese eggplant dish is a real standout. It’s a unique “Fish-Fragrant” sauce that’s a brilliant mix of savory, sweet, and piquant flavors – and guess what? There’s no fish in the sauce at all!
- Quick and Easy Cooking Process: This recipe is perfect for those times when you want to whip up something special with little time to spare. The cooking process is straightforward, making it a optimal choice for a quick yet impressive side dish.
- Authentic Flavors with a Twist: By following this recipe, you’re not just making an eggplant dish; you’re bringing a piece of Chinese culinary tradition into your home. Whether you’re using Italian eggplant or the slender Chinese variety, the flavors and textures come together to create something truly memorable.
Ingredients
- Cooking oil
- Eggplants
- Red chile
- Ginger
- Minced garlic
- Green onions
- Soy sauce
- Chinese black vinegar
- Sugar
How to Make this Chinese Eggplant Recipe
- In a wok or large nonstick skillet over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of cooking oil and swirl to coat wok. When wok is hot, add eggplant in a single layer. Cook 1-2 minutes and flip over each piece so they cook evenly. Cook another 2-3 minutes, flipping occasionally.The vibrant purple color of your cooked eggplant should change. The skin should also be wrinkled and the flesh soft.
- Push eggplant aside in wok and add another tablespoon of oil. Add garlic, red chile peppers, ginger and green onion. Stir these aromatics until they become fragrant. Combine aromatics with eggplant and stir fry for one minute. Add soy sauce, black vinegar and sugar and stir to combine all. Serve immediately.
What Type of Eggplant Should I Use?
I grow both Chinese and Japanese eggplant in my garden, both of which are less-bitter than the standard fat globe variety. I’ve heard cooks needing to “salt” the eggplant and let it sit to release its bitter compounds. Not needed for the Asian variety! But either variety is perfect for this spicy eggplant recipe. It’s good to note that Japanese and Chinese eggplant also feature a thinner skin than other types of eggplant.
While this is a Chinese eggplant recipe, I used the Japanese eggplant variety this time. (My Chinese plant was towards the end of its life cycle and was only poppin’ out eggplant runts).
Other than just simple roasting, this is really the only other way I cook eggplant. It’s a wonderful flavor party – chiles, garlic, soy sauce and a touch of black vinegar to balance the flavors out.
A Delicious Sauce
The translated Chinese name for this dish is “Fish-Fragrant Eggplant” which is so unfortunate. I’m sure it’s deterred many cooks from even trying the recipe. The reason it’s called this is because the dish originates from the Sichuan province of China.
Sichuanese cooking has so many different descriptors for its 56 distinct cooking methods and 23 “official” Sichuanese flavoring combinations. The “Fish-Flavored” refers to the combination: salty+sweet+sour+spicy+garlic+ginger+green onion. Don’t worry, the sauce mixture doesn’t taste fishy, nor the does the recipe contain any fish at all. It’s a sauce that goes GREAT with many Sichuan fish dishes – thus the funny translated name.
Making this Chinese Eggplant Recipe Paleo-Friendly
If you’re on a paleo diet, substitute the soy sauce with Liquid Aminos or Coconut Aminos. There’s only 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in the recipe, and you can omit that, or substitute with sweetener of your choice. I prefer a little bit of sweetener, to counter the acidity of the black vinegar.
Top Tips
- If you can find Chinese bean paste – add 1 tablespoon to the stir-fry and cut the soy sauce to just 1 teaspoon.
- The original Chinese Eggplant recipe uses Chinese Black Vinegar – which is very similar to young balsamic vinegar. You can use either. The balsamic vinegar should be tart, not sweet – so don’t use the expensive super-aged super-thick sweet stuff (save that for your strawberries).
- If you can’t find Chinese or Japanese eggplants, just use globe eggplant! Cut in similar sized strips. Baby globe eggplant is really good too. No need to salt. Just rinse and cut eggplant pieces into thin wedges.
- When cooked, the eggplant should have changed color, skin wrinkled and flesh soft.
Video: Chinese Eggplant Recipe with Spicy Garlic Sauce
FAQ: Chinese Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce Recipe
Q: Can I use light or dark soy sauce instead of regular soy sauce in this recipe?
A: Absolutely! If you use light soy sauce, you’ll get a slightly saltier and more delicate flavor, which is great if you prefer a subtler taste. Opting for dark soy sauce, on the other hand, will impart a richer color and a touch of sweetness to the dish. Both are delicious alternatives, but they will slightly alter the final flavor profile of your tender eggplant.
Q: How should I store leftover eggplant with spicy garlic sauce?
A: Store any leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It’s best to consume them within 2-3 days to enjoy the tender eggplant at its best.
Q: Is there a way to reduce excess moisture in the eggplant?
A: To minimize excess moisture, ensure the eggplant pieces are not overly thick and are cooked at high heat in the wok. This allows the eggplant to become tender while reducing unnecessary moisture.
Q: Can garlic powder be used instead of fresh garlic?
A: While fresh garlic is recommended for the best flavor, you can use garlic powder in a pinch. Keep in mind the taste may not be as vibrant.
Q: Where can I find Chinese black vinegar?
A: Chinese black vinegar is typically available in Asian grocery stores or in the international aisle of larger supermarkets. It adds a unique tangy flavor to the dish that is hard to replicate with other vinegars.
Check Out Other Chinese Vegetable Recipes
- Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce Recipe
- Chinese Baby Bok Choy Recipe
- Chinese Leafy Greens (Yu Choy) Recipe
Have you tried this Chinese Eggplant recipe? Feel free to leave a star rating and I’d love to hear from you in the comments below!
Chinese Eggplant with Spicy Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil divided
- 3 eggplant small, cut into long strips
- 2 cloves garlic finely minced
- 1 red chile pepper finely minced
- 1/2 inch fresh ginger peeled and finely minced
- 1 green onion chopped
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon black vinegar Chinese black vinegar
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
Instructions
- In a wok or saucepan over high heat, add 1 tablespoon of the cooking oil and swirl to coat wok. When wok is hot, add eggplant in a single layer. Cook 2 minutes and flip over each piece so they cook evenly. Cook another 2-3 minutes, flipping occasionally.The egg plant should have changed in color, the skin wrinkled and the flesh soft.
- Push eggplant aside in wok and add 1 tablespoon cooking oil. Add garlic, red chile peppers, ginger and green onion. Stir these aromatics until they become fragrant. Combine aromatics with eggplant and stir fry for one minute. Add soy sauce, black vinegar and sugar and stir to combine all. Serve immediately.
Nutrition
If you like Sichuanese cooking, pick up “Land of Plenty: Authentic Sichuan Recipes Personally Gathered in the Chinese Province of Sichuan” cookbook by Fuchsia Dunlop. Fuchsia is a celebrated cookbook author specializing in Chinese cookery. She’s lived in Sichuan and was the first foreigner to study full-time at the province’s famous cooking school.
Did you try this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and leave a review in the comment section! I always appreciate your feedback and I know other readers do, too!
Stay in touch with me in our 
Had to cook the eggplant in batches in my wok. To help with the excessive oil, I actually used cooking spray and a splash of water to each batch. I also subbed a Serrano pepper since I didn’t have a red chili. Really good recipe!
Thanks for your recipe i will make it tonight for dinner
Hello Mylene!
Thank you for trying out the recipe! We’d love to hear how it turned out for you. Don’t hesitate to share your results with us. Happy cooking!
Amazon sells organic Chinese black vinegar……. totally worth it to have on hand in the vinegar section of my pantry!
This was delicious, but I had to use way more oil than called for. Part of the issue was that I had to cook the eggplant in batches, in order to cook it in a single layer.
I served it with crispy tofu to turn it into a main course.
Where did you get your wok? I have an electric stove and not sure what would work best.
Fantastic recipe….a great side dish for grilled steaks!
We made this with soy scarce and onion with steak ! Absolutely delicious
I love this recipe though I made it a little bit less spicy.
My family loves it, it’s very easy to make and delicious.
I replaced black vinegar with rice vinegar and it was just fine.
Fantastic! I picked my Japanese eggplants a few minutes before doing this recipe. Exquisite! Even a friend who doesn’t like eggplant went wild over it!
I’ve made this before and wanted to try again with addition of some protein. I was thinking either beef or pork. Can I increase the amount of sauce and just add the protein? Or should the protein be flavored with other ingredients? Has anyone tried adding any meat? Lmk.
How do you eat these eggplants? Scoop out the inner part, or cut through the skin and inside with a knife and fork?
Is it possible to cook this by slicing the eggplants first, or would it get too soft?
I normally do not write reviews of recipes I find on the internet, but I made this today and omg it was RESTAURANT QUALITY! My husband had two bowls of this eggplant with quinoa b/c it was that good! I made slight modifications because of what I had on hand: used just 1 big globe eggplant, sautéed the eggplant in sesame oil (gave it a really nice flavor), rice vinegar instead of black vinegar, and omitted the sugar. Delicious! Thank you for this recipe!
Way slow, too slow to bother with again?
I made the recipe using 2 Chinese eggplants that were about 10 to 12″ long and had too much eggplant to the amount of sauce the recipe made. It tasted delicious but really needed a lot more sauce to coat all the pieces. It would be helpful if you could give a weight quantity so that we can adjust making more sauce if our eggplant is plentiful.
We enjoyed it very much and I look forward to making it in correct proportions.
Thanks!
Love this recipe. Simple yet delightful to the palate! Made this twice over isolation and my family enjoyed it! Thank you for sharing!!
How much is 1/2 inch fresh ginger? The best measure is by weight. The second best is by volume, such as 1 teaspoon, etc. Is 1/2 inch a 1/2 inch piece of 1/2 inch diameter, 1 inch diameter, etc.?
Fresh ginger is like a finger. So measure about a half inch of your finger or the ginger.
Truly delicious! I have done it twice and each time it was a hit. Easy to prepare and super tasty! Thank you so much for sharing! LOVE IT
Hi where just wondering where you got that garlic grinder tool from?? That would be a time saver for me in the kitchen!
I love this tool! https://amzn.to/2XcldvW
Jaden
Absolutely easy and gorgeous, supertasty recipe! Will make this more often!
Eggplant has never been my fav unless masked as eggplant parmesan covered with sauce. Wow…this is great!!!
This is one of my favorite recipes! Delicious!
Thanks so much Michele! Jaden
Easy to make. And tastes great too! I did put a little salt to add some flavor. I dont like my dishes too sweet lol
Great recipe. The comments on the globe eggplant, though, are old wives tales. Modern globe eggplant are not bitter and never need salting. Just an old chef’s habit which needs to be disabused and discarded.
Ah, thanks for that tidbit of info Teddy! Jaden
Oh, I love this one. Had many styles before but this one is a clear winner in speed and taste. Thank you for this great recipe !!
What kind of red chillies do you use. There are so many different varieties.
Well it’s up to you and your spice level comfort. I try to get small Asian style red chilies, but I can’t always find them at the market.
Thanks for the recipe!! I added petai and lady’s finger .
Soooooooo nice!!
I made a version of this last night with a few of my own modifications and it was excellent. Thanks so much for the inspiration. Your video is great. I hope you’re really successful with your food blog.
So good! Thanks!
I loved this recipe. I have dietary restrictions so had to cut the soy and sugar from the recipe. It still turned out very tasty and satisfying. Not the same flavor Iʻve come to love, but very satisfying, nonetheless!
Will Mcgill
My maid came to work this morning with fresh Chinese eggplant from her friends garden down the street . Im from California and live in KL now. I love your video. You are so dang cute and perky. I will make this dish for my grandson and son in law tomorrow nite. I need to get some chiles, black Chinese vinegar and green onions at Ben’s. Thank you!
I love this recipe, better than I’ve had in restaurants. Am fascinated by the garlic utensil you use. Does it have a name?
THank you David! Here is the garlic tool: http://amzn.to/2Ar4xVU
I don’t think that’s the same tool you used. I too am fascinated – I use so much garlic and the looked so easy.
This recipe is amazing! I’m on a low salt diet, but I was craving this dish (魚香茄子). I only used one teaspoon of soy sauce and it came out fantastic! This is an easy and delicious recipe! Thank you!
This was so good! I modified it a little – cutting the eggplant into cubes, microwaving for 6 minutes to speed up the cooking process, and adding Lao Gan Ma spicy chili crisp instead of chili pepper. My fiancé said he loved it, and helped himself to two servings!
I will be trying this recipe out tonight , it looks delicious !! 🙂 I don’t have any chilli peppers could I use chilli flakes instead ?!
Thank you!
🙂
Hi Lily! Absolutely 🙂
The instructions do not work completely. For one thing, eggplants takes a lot longer than five minutes to cook – if they are not soft, their flavor is not completely brought out. For another, a wok is not big enough to lay out all eggplant pieces – unless the two eggplants are awfully small.
But I did follow the general instructions, and the outcome was a very pretty and tasty dish. I sliced eggplants in the past, and I must say slices are not as pretty as long strips.
I steamed eggplants before. My conclusion is, sauteed eggplants taste much better than steamed ones. It’s a shame to waste eggplants by steaming. I rather run five miles. I want my eggplants sauteed.
…and with lots of garlic!
Did you use Chinese long eggplant??…those cook faster than large bulbous eggplant, that we commonly have in American grocery stores!!
Yes! I use both Chinese and Japanese eggplant. I love those both better than round Italian style globe eggplant.
Great recipe! I omitted the chili and used balsamic vinegar instead of black vinegar. Still tasted great!
Thanks for the recipe – I’ll give it a whirl. I nearly gave up on this page though – you have so many ads coming in from so many (slow) servers that it took over 5 minutes to load. You’re going to lose a lot of readers that way.
Very delicious!! Thank you 🙂
can i use oyster sauce and replace the black vinegar?
Oyster sauce is sweet and salty — black vinegar is sour and sweet. Substitute instead with balsamic vinegar.
Super east dish. Sweet and hot, garlic and ginger infused fragrant and delicious. Very little prep time and cooking time.
Love it
This recipe looks great! I plan on trying it tonight. Do you think I could use chili paste instead of chopped chili?
I have not tried any other cooking for eggplant but just Filipino style, fried, steamed and or sauté wants to try yours, saw a jar of pepper bean paste but ignored it, will buy it then tomorrow, while on sale !
I tried this today and it was out of the world! I live in Singapore but ironically the first time I tried this dish was in London! And I loved it and today decided to cook it at home and found your site. I paired this with a simple egg fried rice and the result was divine! Thanks for the recipe! It rocks!
What would side dish would go along with this eggplant recipe. I am cooking this eggplant recipe tonight it looks like it will be good. Thanks
Hi Linda – serve with white rice and simple steamed vegetables.
I made this tonight – wow! So good! And so easy. It was my first experience with Chinese eggplant , but it won’t be the last. I also added broccoli florets to the stir fry and that worked well. This recipe is a keeper.
Thank you so much Phil!
I love all your recipes, simple and delicious like this one!
My wife is a veggie but I detest the things – we’re now living in Egypt and baby aubergines are everywhere (white and purple).
I cooked some fish for her tonight and as a side decided to cook some of the aubergines that we had … I replaced the black vinegar with malt vinegar, but this still turned out lovely!
Thank you.
What brand is that garlic smasher thingy?
Thanks!
it’s the NexTrend – best garlic thingy in the world!
Hi Jaden,
I tried it this morning and it was good. Besides I love eggplants. And I used the green ones, here in Indonesia, the green ones are more sweeter, for my taste.
We used to cook the eggplants with chili ( lots of them ) onion, garlic, salt , stir fry them and combine with the fried eggplants. So your recipe is new to me and I must say it is delicious.
Thank you for sharing.
Thank you so much Julia! I haven’t tried green eggplants before – I’ll have to try to grow them in my garden!
Awesome! I threw in what I had in the fridge, lots of substitutions and I maybe made it more Mexican, lol. I definitely needed to cut my eggplant thinner. My slices were pretty big 🙂
I’ll definitely try it out right the next time! Thanks, great recipe!
Thank you Jessica! But hey, Mexican style eggplant sounds AWESOME!
I don’t have a red chili pepper but want to make this tonight. What would be a good substitute? I do have a jalapeño and a Hungarian hot wax pepper and a sweet red pepper.
Any type of chile pepper would be fine, just the color and spice level will be different. I suggest combo of sweet red + jalepeno!
Oh, and I am very excited to buy that cookbook you recommend and some Sichuan peppercorns!
Wow, super! I just jumped on the old ‘net to look for recipes for Chinese eggplant since my Ping Tung plant is popping them out like crazy now, and landed right on this one 🙂 It looks so beautiful too — can’t wait to try it! I have lots of chiles/peppers but no spring onions now, so will substitute chives. Your garlic-ginger-saute’d bok choi recipe instantly became my favourite way to prepare that vegetable when I first found it a couple years ago. Thank you!
Running out for black vinegar never heard of it but i m sure the chinese grocery store will carry it. Alicia thanks for the tip regarding black vinegar Xinjiang or Chinkiang vinegar
Hi Jaden! I made this eggplant dish last night. It was my first time cooking with black vinegar and black bean paste. The dish turned out beautifully. We thoroughly enjoyed it. Thanks for the great recipe and post. I look forward to trying more of your recipes. I will check out your quilting site too since I quilt also. Have a great day. 🙂
I’ve made this recipe last night & it was great. It smalled like restaurant take out food. a must try!
Wow Jaden, quite a while since I saw a post. This dish is just what I have been searching for and I am in love with the recipe and the results.
So soft and tender the only problem: I can’t stop eating it and then there is none for the family…..
For those people enquiring about the bitterness or otherwise of eggplant (aubergine, in Europe). Fresh eggplant of any variety should not be bitter, particularly modern strains that we will buy in the shops. If your eggplant is old, then it will be bitter, that’s why someone said they found a bitter one once. To choose a fresh eggplant, always look for the “leaves” where the stem joins the plant. This green bit should be green, not brown, not greyish and not bruised. The eggplant should look plump, not shrivelled, and the freshest eggplants will look shiny and bursting with life. There shouldn’t be discoloured spots.
Finally, to figure out if you need to salt your eggplants (frankly, in my opinion, if they need salting I’m going to bin it anyway as it’s not fresh), cut a little sliver and eat it raw. If it’s bitter you will taste it immediately. If it’s fresh it will taste sweet and fresh.
Oh, and the dark vinegar required for this recipe is Xinjiang or Chinkiang vinegar, in case you can find it. It has a distinct flavour.
Good luck!
This is one of my favorite dishes and it tastes amazing, I have never made it at home but will try now with this recipe. I had it for the first time at a restaurant in San Jose California called Lock chun. Wow!!! Last I had it at a Chinese restaurant in Atlanta Georgia, I believe if I can get the sauce right I can make it at home. I won’t eat most eggplant dishes, this one I can eat without rice or anything. I m Indian and we eat loads of eggplant in different preparations, this Chinese one is amazing
I did a random search on the internet for Chinese eggplant recipes, found yours, fixed it, and OOOOH! YUMMY! Thank you so much. I did have bean paste I had luckily bought on a whim the week before! Yay! Easy, delicious, and fast. I made mine over rice and it was a great simple dinner. Thank you again!
I just made this and it turned out fantastic! Love your tasty, easy, fast recipes. So glad I found your blog!
I enjoy your recipes Jaden, I have sent this one to several person. Your cooking is easy and fast it works well with my lifestyle. Continue to do a great job 🙂
Thank you Denny!
looks amazing and will try…but I am interested in the garlic do-hickey!!! Love your site…btw…I am Jeremiah’s Aunt Kathie! Hope to meet ou one day.
I love this recipe. Simply delicious and supper easy to prepare.
Yum! Chinese eggplant is one of my favorite vegetables! I have most of these ingredients already on hand. Thanks for sharing!
This was delicious! Thank you for sharing!!
Ooh, one of my favorite dishes (and one my teenage daughter loves, too)! I usually use brown sugar and a splash of oyster sauce in my version (the remaining ingredients are the same, though). I can’t wait to try your recipe–it looks delicious.
This eggplant sounds fantastic – love the color and flavor the red pepper and green chili give it!
I love cooking with Chinese and Japanese eggplants! Yuu xiang chie zi is one of my favorite dishes (although I’ve never made it at home. Now I have to.) Typically, I find they don’t need salting, but I had a bad experience once with some eggplants that turned out very bitter. Since then, I always salt, but now I’m wondering if I’m paranoid…
I didn’t grow up eating eggplant (and lots of other delicious veggies) and am so happy to find this recipe. Sounds delicious. Also, the video is so very helpful. Lastly, I love that you include a picture in the printed recipe. It reminds me why I printed a recipe when I see the photo.
Hm I love this dish! Eggplants are one of my favorite vegetables! It’s interesting to read about the bitterness of globe eggplants..can they really be bitter in America? I buy regular globe eggplants all the time here in Switzerland and never had a single one that was bitter. Could it be because they let them grow to big in the States? (I was always amazed at the huge sizes of some veggies and fruits over there!). Anyway I need to make this dish soon again, it tastes as delicious as it looks!
Yu Shang chetzu is one of my favorite Chinese dishes. I tried the recipe and found that the eggplants do not get soft as in a restaurant. So I asked the chef. He said he deep fries the eggplant.
Instead of deep frying, you can steam the eggplants separately first to your desired level of softness. Much healthier and is really quick and effective.Then add to stirfryed ingredients
I fry the eggplants with a half cup water added and then put a lid on for my Thai style basil/eggplant. Stops eggplants soaking up too much oil as they’re basically being braised.
Looks like a simple, easy stir-fry that yields just enough yum. I do envy the clicks, it’s not often eggplant in cooked form can look this good.
Looks absolutely delicious! Nothing beats the taste of freshly picked eggplant, savored as fish by vegetarians in India.
Just made it tastes great thanks for sharing your recipe
Hi Mylene!
Thank you for appreciating the recipe! We’re grateful for your support and hope you continue enjoying Steamy Kitchen recipes.