Over this past weekend I was thinking of making the Chinese eggplant in Garlic Sauce as I was searching for a quick and easy recipe and right then I see this video on my Insta-feed for this Spicy Eggplant In Garlic Szechuan Sauce by Feasting at home and I was left thinking…coincidence or was it the Insta magic 🤔 Whatever maybe, it was happy ending with Sunday meal done right. The dish turned out pretty good and the family loved it, even my kid enjoyed it a lot with some white rice..🍛. I made to suit our taste and liking by modifying a bit.
Chinese garlic sauce has an amazing flavor profile from the spice mix and the sauces. It’s sour, salty, nutty, and a little sweet. The eggplant is added to the sauce at the end of the cooking process so the veggie does not breakdown and loose shape. Adding the eggplant and tossing it too much will result in a soggy eggplant that is not very appetizing.
This is one of those dishes that does not take any more than 15-20 minutes to make and is super filling when paired with steamed rice. Instead on sautéing the eggplant on stove top you can get the sauce ready first and then toss the eggplant in to the oven for 10-20 minutes right before you are ready to serve it and cook it until it turns soft and browned right before you are ready to serve it.
The first time I ever tasted this dish was well 15 years back in….’Disney World’ yup of all place. I know. I was new to the country and away from home and home cooked meals for the first time. Obviously being vegetarian, finding proper food was a great pain. With very few real options –Pizza , pasta or bland plain rice with some sautéed veggies, everywhere we went.
Almost at the verge of breakdown, me and hubby end up in a Chinese restaurant, ( I imagined it would be like the fusion Indo-Chinese food , the only Chinese cuisine I knew) hoping to awaken our taste buds before it was completely lost on us. Then half way through the menu I simply gave up on finding anything vegetarian, but the waitress was kind enough to suggest this Spicy Eggplant In Szechuan Garlic Sauce which she offered to make without the fish and oyster sauce that the original dish had.. I was soo happy that they would specially make that and that totally saved the day for us.
After all ….’Disney World’ is ‘Where dreams comes true’. Thank you @feasingathome for bringing back some memories with is tasty Recipe 😊.
Eggplant In Szechuan Garlic Sauce
Ingredients
- 3 Chineese eggplant sliced to one inch piece
- 3-4 cloves garlic chopped
- 1 piece Ginger chopped
- 2 nos red chillies
- 4-5 tbs Soy sauce adjust to taste
- 2 tbs vineger
- 2 tbs Szechuan or per taste
- 1 tsp spice mix peppercorn, star anise, cinnamon, cloves powdered
- 2 tbs Roasted Peanuts crushed a bit
- 4 tbs olive oil
- 1/2 tsp tamarind sauce ( optional)
Instructions
- Toss sliced Chinese eggplant in corn starch and roast in hot pan in oil, till soft and crisp exterior. Then set it aside.
- In the same pan add some oil – chopped ginger and garlic and whole red chillis.
- Add crushed – peppercorn, star anise, cinnamon, and cloves to the mix and saute for a min.
- Then add in the soy sauce, vinegar and Szechuan sauce and salt and water as need to make a thick paste.
- Add in the roasted eggplant and toss it all together.
- Garnish with toasted some fresh ginger, roasted crushed peanuts and green onions (did not have for my dish☹)
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