Chinese Steamed Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

Many eggplant recipes are sautéed or braised in oil. Eggplant soaks up oil like a sponge, too. This home style Chinese recipe uses steam to cook the eggplant, for a simple, economical dish ready in 15 to 20 minutes. Chinese steamed eggplant with garlic sauce is easy to prepare at home and offers a healthier alternative to eggplant cooked in oil. This is also a vegetarian dish, with no meat or dairy products.

The spicy sauce uses a small amount of oil, loaded with garlic and fresh xiaomila peppers. Additional flavor comes from the light and dark soy sauces, oyster sauce, and a small amount of salt. Topped with a sprinkling of green onions, a few minutes work give you a simple dish alive with red, green, and gold colors and full of flavor.

Chinese eggplant

Chinese eggplants are smaller than their Western cousins, and look more like a small cucumber. Western eggplants tend to be 8 to 10 inches in length, teardrop shaped, and 4 to 6 inches in diameter. Chinese eggplants range from 5 to 8 inches (12 to 20 cm) long and 1 to 2 inches (2.5 to 5 cm) thick. This recipe uses the Chinese variety, and the cooking times reflect this.

Tips for best results

• If you cannot get fresh xiaomila peppers, you can compensate by rehydrating dried chilies. This will yield a better texture and richer color.
• If you are unable to purchase Chinese eggplant, try to find smaller, slimmer eggplants. Avoid the larger, thicker Western varieties, or experiment with longer cooking times.
• If you use your seasoned stir-fry wok to steam the eggplant, the boiling water will strip the seasoning and you will need to re-season the wok. Some cooks use two woks: one for stir-fry dishes and the other for steamed and simmered dishes. As an alternative, you can use bamboo steamers with a large saucepan:

Steamed Eggplant with Garlic Sauce

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This Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce recipe uses steam, instead of braising in oil, as a healthy, simple way to cook eggplant. While the eggplant is steaming, you can prepare the other ingredients. The cooking times in this recipe are based on Chinese eggplant, which are about the size of small cucumbers. Western eggplant varieties tend to be longer, and thicker. If you use a Western eggplant, try to choose smaller ones, and you will have to adjust cooking time.

This approach traps the heat within the eggplant by leaving the skin intact for the first 10 minutes. Once the skin is soft, cut a slit down the middle, to allow the eggplant to open and expand for the final stage of steaming.

This recipe calls for fresh xiaomila chili peppers. Those are difficult to impossible to find in Western countries. To substitute dried peppers, first rehydrate them to soften the texture.

Use a whole bulb of garlic for this recipe. Heating the garlic and chili in a small amount of oil will infuse the steamed eggplant with flavor.

4 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 2 minutes mins

Cook Time 18 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Main Course, Side Dish

Cuisine Chinese Home Cooking

Servings 4

Calories 107 kcal

Equipment

• 1 wok
• 1 steam rack
• 1 wok lid
• 1 sharp kitchen knife
• 1 wok or small saucepan for making the sauce

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 2 Chinese eggplants
• 1 bulb garlic minced
• 7 fresh xiaomila chili peppers chopped
• 20 ml cooking oil
• 3 ml light soy sauce
• 2 ml dark soy sauce
• 7 ml oyster sauce
• 2 ml salt to taste
• 2-3 green onions chopped for garnish

Instructions

 

• Prepare the ingredients. Wash well.
  
• Fill your wok about ⅓ of the way with potable water and turn the flame to high to bring the water to a boil. Place your steamer rack in the bottom of the wok. Remove the stem of the eggplants and place them on a plate, leaving space between them. When the water is boiling, reduce heat to medium low. Place the plate on the steamer rack and cover the wok with the lid. Steam the eggplants for 10 minutes, until the skin becomes soft.
  2 Chinese eggplants
  
• While the eggplant is steaming, mince the garlic and chop the xiaomila peppers.
  
• Cut a slit in the eggplants with a knife, but do not cut completely through. Then continue to steam with the lid on the wok for 5-8 minutes.
  

Cook the sauce:

• If you do not have a second wok, use a small saucepan over low heat to prepare the sauce. Add 20ml (4 tsps) of oil to the pan and add the minced garlic and chopped chili peppers. Stir over heat until fragrant, then season with light and dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, and finally salt. (Check the taste before adding salt.)
  1 bulb garlic, 7 fresh xiaomila chili peppers, 20 ml cooking oil, 3 ml light soy sauce, 2 ml dark soy sauce, 7 ml oyster sauce, 2 ml salt
  
• Stir well to combine the flavors, then pour the sauce into a dish for later use.
  

Finish and serve:

• Remove the eggplant from the wok and discard the excess water. Spread the garlic chili sauce on the eggplant and garnish with chopped green onions.
  2-3 green onions
  

Notes

• Eggplants need to be steamed until soft.
• If you have a steamer, then it will be more convenient to make this dish.
• If you don’t like spicy food, then add less chili peppers.
• Add salt sparingly, after the soy sauces and oyster sauce. Both oyster sauce and soy sauce have a salty taste. Test the flavor before adding any salt.
• Monitor the water level in your wok. Add more as needed and return to a boil. The water level should not come above the steamer rack.
• Many cooks use two woks, one well-seasoned for stir-frying, and the other for steaming and simmering. Boiling water in your seasoned wok will strip the seasoning. If you don’t have a second wok, use a small saucepan to make the sauce.
• If you used your stir-fry wok to steam the eggplant, be sure to rinse it, dry it, and re-season it when you are done.

Nutrition

Calories: 107kcalCarbohydrates: 15gProtein: 3gFat: 5gSaturated Fat: 0.4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 2gMonounsaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0.02gSodium: 342mgPotassium: 562mgFiber: 7gSugar: 9gVitamin A: 174IUVitamin C: 19mgCalcium: 27mgIron: 1mg

Keyword eggplant, garlic, oyster sauce, salt, soy sauce, dark, soy sauce, light, xiao mi la chili peppers

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