Chinese Eggplant Recipe (Szechuan Eggplant)

Chinese eggplant recipes are as popular as Sichuan eggplant or Szechuan eggplant. This is a quick vegan recipe with Asian flavors.

This spicy Chinese eggplant with Sichuan peppers is too delicious yet one of the quickest dishes to add to your dinner or lunch menu. This is vegan and gluten-free also. This is my go-to vegan recipe for lazy days or nights. Check out my other lazy vegan recipes here.

This eggplant recipe is super easy and doesn't require any planning or preparation. Just a few pantry staples and in just 10 minutes (or lesser time) the dish is ready to serve.

In this eggplant recipe, eggplants (preferably Chinese eggplants) are cooked in a spicy Sichuan sauce with a strong flavor of Szechuan peppercorns or Sichuan peppercorns, garlic, and other Asian-flavored sauces. Alternatively, you can make this Chinese eggplant recipe in chili garlic sauce as well.

What is Szechuan Peppercorn?

Szechuan peppercorns, also popular as Sichuan peppercorns, are a kind of fragrant spice produced from the husks of seeds of two species of prickly ash shrub xanthoxylum. Sichuan peppercorns are used whole or ground. This is one of the main ingredients in many recipes of Sichuan cuisine (Chinese). However, Sichuan pepper is not as hot as black peppers but it has a mouth-tingling taste that enhances the flavor.

Fact - Sichuan peppercorns are not peppercorns since they don't belong to the same family as black peppers. If you taste a Sichuan peppercorn, first it doesn't taste very pleasant followed by numbing heat and then tangy. So it enhances the flavor in the dish. (Source)

Substitute for Szechuan peppercorns -

Here, you can add black peppers instead of Szechuan peppercorns but reduce the number of black peppers since they're spicier than Sichuan peppers.

Which eggplant should be used for this Sichuan Chinese eggplant?

The best is to use long Chinese eggplants. If you don't have that, you can also use large fatty eggplants since they have fewer seeds. More seeds make the eggplant taste bitter. Learn more about the taste of eggplants here.

When I make this Chinese eggplant with large eggplants, I cut them so that I don't use the spongy center part. I make pieces with skin only while prepping them.

Why You'll Love This Chinese Eggplant?

• It's flavorful, delicious

• Asian flavors

• quick dish

• no preparation required

• easy vegan recipe

• quick vegan dinner

• gluten-free (with tamari)

Szechuan Eggplant (Chinese Eggplant)

This is an easy recipe that is vegan and gluten-free. With only four ingredients and a sauce, this dish tastes awesome. Here, I have added Sichuan peppers to my eggplant. You can also make the same dish with stir-fry sauce or chili garlic sauce.

Ingredients -

**Note - Detailed measurements are mentioned in the recipe card.

1 - Ingredients for sauce

Soy sauce, hot sauce or chili flakes, brown sugar, vinegar, Shaoxing cooking wine (optional), Szechuan peppers (or black peppers), black bean sauce, corn starch, water

You can also use my Chinese garlic sauce + Szechuan peppers as an alternative sauce. You can substitute the Szechuan pepper with black peppers.

2 - Other Ingredients

Other ingredients are Chinese eggplants, garlic, ginger, dry red chilies, green onions, toasted sesame seeds, olive oil, and cornstarch.

Instructions to make Chinese Eggplant -

Step - 1 - Prepare the sauce

Add the Sichuan peppers to a pan and roast for 3 - 4 minutes on low flame. Remove them from the pan and crush them using a mortar and pestle. Add the peppers to the other ingredients. Prepare the sauce by adding sauces in a mixing bowl.

If Sichuan peppers are unavailable, you can also substitute regular black peppers. However, Sichuan peppers add a nice flavor and aroma to the sauce.

Step 2- Prepare the eggplants

Cut the eggplant and add salt to it. Then, let it sit for some time. This will help in removing the bitterness if any. It will also release some water from the eggplant. Remove from water and place in a clean bowl. Now add a tbsp of cornstarch and mix. This will give the eggplant firmness without getting soggy while frying.

Step - 3 - Fry the eggplants

You can deep fry the eggplants here, but I prefer pan-frying them for my Chinese eggplant recipe. You can also make them in the air fryer. Heat oil in a wok or skillet. Place the eggplants and nicely cook all sides on medium flame. Then remove from pan and place on a paper napkin.

Step 4 - Prepare the gravy

Heat oil in a wok. Once the oil is hot, add chopped garlic, ginger, whole dry red chili, and sauté for 2 minutes until the garlic changes color. Add some chopped scallions.

Now, pour the sauce into the wok or pan. Bring it to a boil for a minute, and then add the fried eggplants. Give them a gentle stir to mix all the elements nicely. Let it simmer for 1 - 2 minutes on medium-high flame. Since the sauce has cornstarch, it will thicken gradually.

Garnish with some freshly chopped scallions or onion greens and some roasted sesame seeds on top. Chinese eggplant is ready.

You can make this Chinese eggplant stir-fry or leave a little sauce in it, as per your choice. Add less water to the sauce if you are making stir-fried eggplant. When serving with rice, I leave a little sauce along with my eggplants, as I like it that way, and it's a whole meal. But if I am making this eggplant for a side dish, I make it stir-fry.

Tips to make perfect Chinese Eggplant-

#1 - Use Chinese/ Japanese eggplants (the slim, long eggplants). We need pieces where one side has skin attached. Else, it will be soggy and mushy. The eggplant should be tender and thin (not thick and fleshy) for the best option.

#2 - If taking large fatty western eggplants, discard the central fleshy portion of the eggplant, which tends to have seeds also.

#3—Salting is needed to release excess moisture. It will soak up less oil. Also, if the eggplant has more seeds, it helps remove bitterness.

#4 - A cornstarch coat helps retain the firm structure of the eggplant pieces. You can also skip the cornstarch.

#5—You can steam the eggplants instead of deep or pan-frying them. Place the pieces (with the skin side down and the body up since it's softer than the skin) in a steamer basket and steam for 10 minutes. Salting and cornstarch are not required if the eggplants are steaming.

#6 - To make this gluten-free use gluten-free soy sauce or tamari.

Chinese Eggplant Recipe (Szechuan Eggplant)

If you like the recipes and want to stay updated, subscribe via email. Also, I would request you to like and share my Facebook Page. Follow My Dainty Kitchen on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.