Sweet and Sour Eggplant With Garlic Chips

By Sue Li

Sweet and Sour Eggplant With Garlic Chips
Andrew Purcell for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Barrett Washburne.
Total Time
20 minutes
Rating
5(3,023)
Comments
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This vibrant eggplant dish relies heavily on simple pantry staples, but gets its complex flavor from the clever use of garlic: First, you make garlic chips, then you fry eggplant in the remaining garlic-infused oil. Since garlic chips can burn easily, the key here is to combine the garlic and oil in an unheated pan for even cooking. As the oil heats up, the garlic will sizzle rapidly as the moisture cooks off. When it slows down, the garlic slices should be crisp. Be sure to remove the chips just as they begin to turn golden, as they will continue to cook after being removed from the oil. The rest is easy: Sauté the eggplant, create a quick soy sauce glaze, sprinkle with herbs and garlic chips, and serve.

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Ingredients

Yield:2 to 4 servings
  • 4cloves garlic, very thinly sliced
  • ¼cup sunflower oil or other neutral oil
  • Kosher salt
  • 3medium Japanese eggplants (about 1 pound total), quartered lengthwise then cut into 2-inch pieces
  • 3tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
  • 2tablespoons light brown sugar
  • 1tablespoon rice wine vinegar
  • ½ to 1teaspoon red-pepper flakes
  • ½cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
  • ¼cup fresh basil leaves, roughly chopped
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (4 servings)

253 calories; 14 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 9 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 30 grams carbohydrates; 13 grams dietary fiber; 19 grams sugars; 5 grams protein; 1047 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Set a small sieve over a heatproof bowl. Combine garlic and oil in a medium skillet and heat over medium-low. Cook garlic until light golden brown and crisp and the bubbles have subsided, 3 to 4 minutes, then quickly strain the garlic chips into the sieve set over the bowl. Transfer the garlic chips to a paper towel-lined plate, season with kosher salt and set aside. Transfer the garlic oil back to the skillet.

  2. Step 2

    Heat the garlic oil over medium-high. Add the eggplant in batches, adding more as they shrink in size and space permits, and cook, stirring occasionally, until cut sides of eggplant are golden-brown and skins are slightly wrinkled, 6 to 8 minutes.

  3. Step 3

    Add the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar and red-pepper flakes and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer, tossing the eggplant to coat, until sauce thickens, 1 to 2 minutes. Serve topped with fresh herbs and garlic chips.

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5 out of 5
3,023 user ratings
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Comments

ejb

I am addicted to this dish. As always, ignore the recommended garlic quantity and measure the slices out with your biting, burning, garlic-soaked, vampire-protected soul.

absolut_foodie

Great recipe as is, but to take it up a notch try using Chinese black vinegar instead of rice wine vinegar. This will make it more sour and add a depth of flavour that will suit lovers of strong & bold tastes.

bacongougere

This is stupidly delicious. I had to hide the garlic chips after making them so the hubby and I wouldn’t EAT THEM ALL before dinner. Added some mint into the basil/cilantro. Couldn’t find Japanese eggplant (hrmph) so subbed one medium more-oval-than-round Italian eggplant. I think it would be better with Japanese. Served with black rice, blistered green beans with garlic, ginger and sesame, and pre-made potstickers for a nice Friday evening dinner.

HA

I added some ground pork and a little mint and a little chili garlic sauce-very delicious!

Banffoodie

This is perfect and will become my go to eggplant recipe. Can’t wait to add ground pork/turkey or tofu. Tip from another NYT eggplant recipe comment is to microwave the eggplant to soften before cooking. I find this lessons the oil absorbed as well as the cooking time to get it deliciously silky.

Mark

I had a single Ichiban plant this summer that produced well over 100 eggplant. In fact, there are still about 15 on it here at Halloween. I have made this countless times with some modifications. I’m an odd one that doesn’t prefer the garlic chips. I still make the garlic oil and then strain the chips out and (gasp) discard them. Then I cook as listed but near the end I add fresh minced garlic, sometimes ginger, and two minced serrano or thai chiles instead of the red pepper flakes. Either way, a very flexible recipe that comes together incredibly quickly as a lunch. Sometimes I just throw in peanuts to make it a little more filling.

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