Stir-fried Eggplant
Stir-fried Eggplant is a home-style vegetable dish at difficulty 2/5 (Easy), about 610 kcal. This home-style stir-fried eggplant is soft, tender, flavorful, and rich in savo. Ingredients and step-by-step instructions are below, with notes for home cooking.
2 / 5
★★☆☆☆
610 kcal
Ingredients
- Eggplant
- Star Anise (optional)
- Dried Shrimp (optional)
- Scallions (optional)
- Minced Meat (optional)
- Soy Sauce
- Sugar (optional)
- Vinegar (optional)
- Rapeseed oil or Peanut oil
Steps
- Wash the eggplant and cut it in half lengthwise (vertically). Cut each half into diamond-shaped pieces and place them in a bowl to wait.
- Wash the scallions and dice them into smaller pieces, placing them on a cutting board to wait.
- Chop the star anise and place it on a cutting board to wait.
- If you plan to add minced meat, use 10 ml oil (15 ml if it is pure lean meat) to stir-fry until the meat turns color over medium-high heat (about 1 minute), then remove and set aside.
- Turn on the heat and heat the wok until there is no water left in it.
- Pour cooking oil into the pot, covering the bottom of the pot twice over (you can add more oil, but not less).
- Heat the oil to about 60% (until shallow frying stage), then add the three optional ingredients: star anise, dried shrimp, and scallions.
- If you do not have the above optional ingredients, heat the oil to 90% maturity (very hot).
- When the oil in the pot is 90% mature, pour the eggplant from the bowl into the pot and use a spatula to stir-fry.
- Stir-fry for about 40 seconds. Hold the spatula high, parallel to the pot, and pour the soy sauce onto the spatula. Pour about 2.5 spatulas of sauce per person (you can add less, but not more, otherwise it will be too salty).
- When the eggplant is halfway soft (after about 1 minute), return the pre-fried minced meat and stir quickly and evenly.
- If you plan to add sugar and vinegar, add them now.
- Continue to stir-fry.
- When all the eggplant in the pot has turned color and is soft, remove it.
Notes
This home-style stir-fried eggplant is soft, tender, flavorful, and rich in savory sauce. Adding star anise enhances the flavor. Eggplant is rich in dietary fiber, Vitamin P, and potassium, which helps protect the cardiovascular system. The method is simple and friendly for beginners—stir-fry on high heat the whole time. From prep to serving, the whole process takes about twenty minutes.
Difficulty Estimate: ★★☆
Estimated Calories: 610 kcal
Calculation:
Determine how many portions you plan to make before starting. One portion is enough for 1-2 people.
Total Quantities (per batch):
- Eggplant count = Portions * 1.8
- Star anise = Portions * 1
- Dried shrimp = Portions * grab about half a handful (for a normal adult male)
- Scallions = Portions * 2
- Minced meat = Portions * 50 g
- Soy sauce = Portions * 40 ml
- Sugar = Portions * 5 g
- Vinegar = Portions * 10 ml
> Note: The amounts of oil and soy sauce are also reflected in the preparation; you can cross-reference these to determine the quantities of added materials.
- Because of the soy sauce, this dish does not need salt. You can taste before serving; if it is not salty, add a tiny amount of salt, and next time increase the amount of soy sauce.
- If dried shrimp are added, you can reduce the soy sauce amount accordingly.
- Use high heat for this dish the entire time.
- Note! Never add water; it will become water-boiled eggplant with a poor texture, so you can use more oil but not less.
- If your home stove reaches 70% oil temperature and the temperature stops rising significantly, you can proceed directly to the next step without insisting on reaching 90% maturity.
- Add sugar and vinegar in the final stage; stir-fry for 20 seconds and serve immediately to avoid premature vinegar which evaporates quickly.
If you encounter issues or find improvements while following this guide's process, please create an Issue or Pull Request.