It is the right season for eggplants and I have to commit that eggplants and mushrooms are my favorite vegetables that can beat the meal meat. It is matched with a very lovely hot garlic sauce.

If you are my fellow readers, you may find I posted lots of yummy eggplants on my blog and this is a totally new way of making eggplants.

steamed eggplant|chinasichuanfood.com

This is super easy to beginners

When I just start cooking, I feel eggplant is quite hard to cook because it needs lots of oil and cooking time. No worries, this one is super easy. Cut the eggplants into wedges and place in a steamer, steam for 10 minutes. That’s it!

How to choose tender eggplant

Firstly look at the appearance, the tender eggplant usually has a smooth skin without any wrinkles. If you press it, it will have a firm texture but can back slightly. Further cut the eggplant out, there will be no black seeds inside.

How to keep the purple color of the eggplants

Eggplants are super easy to be oxidized to lose its beautiful color. The basic principal of prevent it from oxidation is to isolate the skin with air. There are two rules, the first one is to steam flatly with skin downside. The vapor will expel the fresh air. And another way is to fry the eggplant in deep oil, which can completely isolate the air. I also find soaking with black vinegar water can help in some degree. A very basic skill used for blanching chicken feet.

Step to Step

Prepare and soak the eggplants

cut the eggplants into halves and further into small wedges. Soak in large pot of water with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.

steamed eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

Make the sauce

Add garlic, ginger, scallion white, pepper powder, toasted sesame seeds and fresh pepper circles in a bowl and then drizzle around 2 tablespoons of hot oil on top. Mix in light soy sauce, sugar, black vinegar, sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of clean water. Set aside to combine for a while.

steamed eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

Steam the eggplants

Transfer the soaked eggplants to a steamer, try to keep some space among each one. If you get a larger steamer, lay only one layer is the best option. Heat water to a boiling firstly and then place the steamer on. Steam for 10 minutes. You will get cloud like steamed eggplant wedges.

steamed eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

Set up the eggplants in serving plate and then pour the sauce on top.

steamed eggplant|chinasichuanfood.com
steamed eggplants|chinasichuanfood.com

Chinese Eggplant Salad Recipe

Chinese eggplant recipe–Spicy Cold Salad
5 from 8 votes
Print Pin Rate
Course: Salad
Cuisine: Sichuan cuisine
Keyword: Eggplant
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 2
Calories: 170kcal
Author: Elaine

Ingredients

  • 2 small long eggplants , or one large one
  • 1 tbsp. white vinegar , for soaking optional

Sauce

  • fresh chili peppers 1 red and 1 green| cut into small circles
  • 1 tsp. minced ginger
  • 3 garlic cloves , mashed
  • 1/2 tbsp. toasted sesame seeds
  • 1 tsp. chili powder , optional
  • 1 tsp. chopped scallion white
  • 2 tbsp. vegetable cooking oil
  • 2 tbsp. light soy sauce
  • 1 tbsp. sesame oil
  • 2 tsp. black vinegar
  • 1/4 tsp. salt or as needed
  • 1 tbsp. boiled warm water
  • 1/4 tsp. sugar

Instructions

Prepare and soak the eggplant

  • Cut the eggplants into halves and further into small wedges. Soak in large pot of water with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar.

Make the sauce

  • Add garlic, ginger, scallion white, pepper powder, toasted sesame seeds and fresh pepper circles in a bowl and then drizzle around 2 tablespoons of hot oil on top. Mix in light soy sauce, sugar, black vinegar, sesame oil and 1 tablespoon of clean water. Set aside to combine for a while.

Steam the eggplants

  • Transfer the soaked eggplants to a steamer, try to keep some space among each one. If you get a larger steamer, lay only one layer is the best option. Heat water to a boiling firstly and then place the steamer on. Steam for 10 minutes. You will get cloud like steamed eggplant wedges.

Serve

  • Set up the eggplants in serving plate and then pour the sauce on top.

Nutrition

Calories: 170kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Sodium: 1373mg | Potassium: 235mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 40.3mg | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 0.6mg

I also have lots of great eggplant recipes on the blog, check them for your eggplant ideas.

  1. Yu Xiang Eggplant, a famous Sichuan hot garlic sauce.
  2. Sichuan eggplant
  3. Chinese stuffed eggplants, also known as eggplant box
  4. Super easy eggplants with garlic and fresh pepper
  5. Chinese eggplant with minced pork
steamed eggplant|chinasichuanfood.com

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30 Comments

  1. 5 stars
    This is the third of your recipes I’ve tried, and again it was delicious. Unlike some websites, all your recipes work perfectly. And unlike some websites, your food is authentic and non-westernised. Today I try making biang biang noodles. Wish me luck!

  2. 5 stars
    5 stars!

    I made this recipe but used dried Sichuan chilli pepper (cut into pieces) instead of chilli peppers because my Cantonese mom can’t take spice (even McDonald’s chilli sauce makes her cry).

    We loved it. Thank for sharing these delicious recipes. Now I know what to do if I have a lot of eggplants xD

  3. 5 stars
    In this recipe, scallion whites, pepper powder and sugar are not included in the ingredients list but are mentioned in the instructions. Can you tell me what amounts to use of those ingredients?

  4. 5 stars
    Made this for the second time this week! I skipped sugar as I need to at the moment and it was still soooo delicious. Tastes authentic too. Thanks for sharing this. I look forward to exploring more of your site.🤩

  5. I’m making this recipe and can’t help but notice there is absolutely no direction on how long to soak the eggplant in the diluted vinegar, nor is there any indication how long “for a while” is supposed to mean when marinating the sauce. As such, I’m left on the hook wondering how long to wait before steaming the eggplant wedges. This is literally happening to me right now and I’m mortified I recommended this recipe to my mother. Not even ballpark figures are given. What an absolute failure of a recipe as a recipe (i.e. instructions). Correct it, please.