August is peak eggplant season; look for Japanese and Chinese eggplants for this stir-fry recipe. They are thinner, longer, and less bitter than other varieties and become creamy-tender with minimal cooking. This recipe is part of the Healthyish Farmers’ Market Challenge. Get all 10 recipes here.
Ingredients
2 servings
2
1
3
3
¼
3
1
½
2
2
Preparation
Step 1
Finely chop chiles and toss in a small bowl with honey and salt. Let sit until ready to use.
Step 2
Slice eggplants crosswise into 3" pieces, then quarter lengthwise. Heat 2 Tbsp. oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high until shimmering. Cook eggplant, tossing occasionally, until browned and crisp-tender, about 6–8 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
Step 3
Heat remaining 1 Tbsp. oil in same skillet. Cook pork, breaking into small pieces, until browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and sesame seeds and cook, tossing, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add ½ cup basil leaves and toss until wilted, 2–3 minutes.
Step 4
Stir vinegar and tamari into chile mixture. Return eggplant to skillet and add half of sauce. Cook, tossing often, until eggplant is tender, 1–2 minutes more. Season with salt if needed.
Step 5
Transfer eggplant stir-fry to a plate and drizzle with remaining sauce. Top with more basil.
How would you rate Stir-Fried Eggplant With Basil and Chiles?
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Reviews (35)
Back to TopFantastic and fast! Fastastic? I had thai chilis and thai basil on hand and it turned out really great. Soaked my chinese eggplant in salt water first and it came out really creamy. Used tofu - the secret is to umami bomb tofu is to toss small pieces in 1T of nutritional yeast and 1T of soy sauce to marinate a bit, then pan cook. Will absolutely make again.
Jacki A
Atlanta
8/3/2022
Caveat: I made this with some small Italian eggplants from the farmers market that came in our CSA, thinking they would be an ok substitution - that may be the reason for our failure? I'm a person who doesn't like bitter eggplant taste, but loves basil eggplant dishes in restaurants. I hoped that this would be the recipe to make that dish at home. Unfortunately, the eggplant taste dominated all other flavors and it was completely inedible.
Anonymous
DC
7/31/2022
Turned out solid! Made it with tofu, but like the other reviewers said, I think it would be better with pork. With tofu, it's missing some umami. Based on another review, I tried adding some fish sauce and miso to replace that, but I think it could do with even more of a savory punch. I fried the eggplant for a while and then put it on a plate with a lid on top so that it would steam and get even softer.
Sam
Seattle, WA
9/9/2021
Hmm. I also used crumbled tofu instead of pork. (Not fond of pork grease and fat).It was delish. I might up the sauce by a tablespoon or so.
Anonymous
NY
8/1/2021
This is our favorite recipe. We could make it once a week for the rest of our lives. One thing I improvised was throwing the eggplant in the oven to broil on high while cooking the meat. I like that it gets a bit crispy this way.
Danae D.
Santa Monica, California
6/8/2021
Made with tofu and thought it was a little bland. Ended up making a second batch of sauce and using it to up the flavor, so if you’re gonna make it I would say use pork and up the sauce measurements.
alliejayned
Brooklyn, NY
9/18/2020
We loved this! Like recipes that are veggie centric and use the meat as a Flavoring and not the main idea. Doubled the recipe. Added a few sliced scallions and a thinly sliced red pepper as we had those on hand And served over basmati rice with a side of steamed bok choy dressed with a ginger vinaigrette. Will repeat!
Joanna Horobin
Boston
7/28/2020
I am 13 and I decided to make this recipe and I definitely recommend it! It was super easy to make like 15~20 min, smelled and tasted great 🥰💖
Mimiwikiki
California
7/17/2020
Really nice. Instead of pork I used a hand-chopped piece of chicken which I infused with a bit of fish sauce and soy sauce. Totally worked. Question: why wait to add the soy sauce and vinegar to the honey and chile mixture? Why not mix them all together at the same time? Is it to infuse the honey with the chiles? Does it really make any difference if you add the soy and vinegar later vs. when you first mix it? (Asking because I'm wondering if this is a "thought through" thing or just how it got written up for no particular reason.)
Anonymous
Montreal
6/30/2020
This is a delicious recipe. The rice vinegar & soy sauce(tamari) combination goes really well with the eggplant.
Santi_M
NYC, NY
6/5/2020
In quarantine cooking times, whenever I find myself with some ingredients I don't know what to do with, I turn to BA. This time, I had some ground pork, basil, and eggplant, and this recipe popped up. Although I ended up using a pound of ground pork, and a little more eggplant, the recipe was still delicious, and would be great over rice, or over soba noodles with a jammy egg, as my husband and I did with the leftover. Super easy and quick. Would recommend.
buonjonna
Allentown, PA
4/23/2020
Its really really good! We ate it with some basmati rice.
Anonymous
Toronto
4/6/2020
This is pretty tasty! I upped the pork so it was more of a 1:1 ratio of the eggplant and meat. Quick and easy.
Anonymous
New York
3/13/2020
Just made this for the second time this week, extra-firm tofu in place of pork, maple syrup sub for honey, and with a bit of miso paste added is INCREDIBLE. Thank you Chris for making recipes that are vegan-friendly and delicious. 🥰
Anonymous
1/3/2020
LOVE this recipe, fast, easy and so flavourful. We ate it with jasmine rice and pea shoots. I would recommend doubling for leftovers. Don't sleep on the fresh basil!
Anonymous
toronto
10/11/2019