Chinese eggplant recipe—Spicy cold salad.

Eggplant is one of the treasure purple food that loved by Chinese people. And it tastes really good no matter in salad, stir-fries or braising recipes. If you love restaurant Chinese food or take out, you may see eggplant in hot garlic sauce on many menus. That’s one of the most popular eggplant recipes in Sichuan cuisine known as Yu Xiang Eggplant in Chinese.

This eggplant recipe I introduced today is requested by reader Christine about a cold eggplant salad served with a stick. Yes, in restaurants, this dish usually is served with a server similar to garlic presser and a stick. In Chinese, we call this as Leibo Eggplant which means eggplant salad served in Leibo. So you can mash the eggplant and soak them in the sauce for a better absorptio. This is for some fun during the dinner. However if you do not have that server like me, you can also enjoy this recipe.

Firstly, check the ingredients, I am using long green chili pepper known as Line pepper in China. Those peppers can be replaced by cayenne peppers. You need to cut them into small circles or dices. But be careful with your hand during the process.

For the eggplants, I am using long purple eggplants. Steaming is highly recommended in order to keep the color mostly.

After steaming, cool the eggplants down and cut into small strips. Lay in your serving bowl. Stir fry the pepper and garlic and make the sauce.

For  a much spicier taste, just stir fry around half of your peppers and keep the rest fresh. For a milder taste, fry your peppers for a longer time to reduce the spiciness.

Pour the sauce over your eggplants. And soak them for around 10 minutes before serving. Each time before eating the eggplant, re-soak it in the sauce.

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Chinese Eggplant Salad Recipe

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

30 mins

Total Time

40 mins

 

Chinese eggplant recipe--Spicy Cold Salad

Course: Salad

Cuisine: Sichuan cuisine

Keyword: Eggplant

Servings: 2

Calories: 170 kcal

Author: Elaine

Ingredients

• 2 long eggplants
• 4 to 8 fresh long chili peppers , cut into small circles
• 1 red long chili pepper or 2 Thai chili peppers , cut into small circles
• 3 garlic cloves , mashed
• 1 small bunch coriander , finely chopped (leave some leaves for decoration)
• 1 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil

Sauce

• 1 tbsp. light soy sauce
• 1 tbsp. sesame oil
• 2 tsp. black vinegar
• 1 tsp. salt or as needed
• 3 tbsp. boiled warm water

Instructions

1. Cut the two ends of the eggplants and then into sections around 8 to 10 cm long.
2. Set up the steamer and steam the eggplant for around 15 minutes or until soft (you can easily insert a chop sticker inside).
3. Transfer out after cooling down and cut the eggplant into strips and lay the strips one by one on the serving bowl. I am using chopstickers.
4. Prepare a pan, heat up around 1 tablespoon of vegetable cooking oil. Add red peppers and red peppers in to stir fry for around 1 minute over medium fire or until they become slightly soft. Add mashed garlic to fry for around 1 minute.
5. Transfer all the content in the pan to your sauce bowl.
6. Add other ingredients for the sauce and mix well. Garnish chopped coriander. Pour the sauce over the serving bowl, set aside so the eggplant can be soaked in the sauce for around 10 minutes to 20 minutes.
7. Decorate with coriander leaves before serving.

Nutrition Facts

Chinese Eggplant Salad Recipe

Amount Per Serving

Calories 170 Calories from Fat 135

% Daily Value*

Fat 15g23%

Saturated Fat 7g44%

Sodium 1373mg60%

Potassium 235mg7%

Carbohydrates 8g3%

Fiber 2g8%

Sugar 3g3%

Protein 2g4%

Vitamin A 280IU6%

Vitamin C 40.3mg49%

Calcium 20mg2%

Iron 0.6mg3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.