Chinese Steamed Eggplant with Garlic and Soy Sauce Recipe
Steamed eggplant with garlic and soy sauce is a light yet very aromatic dish, especially popular in southern China. The vegetable becomes buttery soft but doesn’t soak up oil because it isn’t fried. It’s a great appetizer or side for rice – a bit like braised vegetables, but with an Asian character.
Steaming keeps the eggplant incredibly soft and silky without soaking it in oil, while the hot garlic-chili oil poured over a soy-vinegar base gives deep umami and a distinctly Chinese flavor profile with minimal effort.
Chef's tips
Use slim Asian eggplants if you can find them – they steam faster and have more delicate skin. Don’t over-fry the garlic; it should be just golden, not brown, to avoid bitterness. Serve the eggplant soon after pouring the hot sauce so it can absorb the flavors but still keep its silky texture.
How to serve
Serve as part of a larger Asian-style meal with steamed rice, stir-fried greens and tofu or chicken. It also works well as a light starter with a bowl of miso soup or a simple cucumber salad on the side.
Ingredients
- eggplants medium-sized - 2 pieces
- garlic finely chopped - 3 cloves
- soy sauce - 2.5 tablespoons
- rice vinegar or apple cider vinegar - 1 tablespoon
- sugar - 1 teaspoon
- vegetable oil e.g. rapeseed oil - 2 tablespoons
- sesame oil optional - 0.5 teaspoons
- chili flakes or fresh chili amount to taste - 0.5 teaspoons
- chives or spring onion chopped - 2 tablespoons
- fresh coriander chopped, optional - 1 tablespoon
Preparation
- Wash the eggplants and trim off the ends. Cut into long pieces about 2–3 cm wide.
- Arrange the eggplant pieces in a steamer basket or on an insert for steaming. If you don’t have a steamer, use a metal sieve set over a pot with a little boiling water and cover with a lid.
- Steam the eggplants for 10–12 minutes, until very soft – a fork should slide easily into the flesh.
- In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, rice vinegar and sugar until the sugar dissolves.
- Heat the vegetable oil in a small pan. Add the chopped garlic and chili flakes and fry for 30–40 seconds over medium heat, until the garlic turns lightly golden and fragrant.
- Remove the pan from the heat and immediately pour in the soy sauce and vinegar mixture. Stir to create an aromatic sauce.
- Transfer the cooked eggplants to a serving platter. If you like, gently open them up with a fork so the sauce can soak in better.
- Pour the hot sauce over the eggplants, sprinkle with chives and, if using, coriander. Finally, drizzle with a little sesame oil.
- Serve warm or at room temperature as a side dish to rice or other dishes.
Storage
No storage information available for this dish.
This dish is one of the easiest ways to showcase eggplant’s creamy texture without deep-frying. Once you try the combination of soft steamed eggplant and fragrant garlic-soy dressing, it may become a regular in your weeknight rotation.
