Thai basil eggplant recipe

• servings: 4 servings
• active time: 15 minutes
• total time: 30 minutes

Ingredients

16 oz Chinese eggplant (3 long ones, Thai eggplant, makhuea, or Japanese eggplant)

3 ½ cups room temperature water

3 ½ tbsp distilled vinegar

2 ½ tbsp tapioca starch (or arrowroot or potato starch)

3 ½ tbsp avocado oil

¾ oz Garlic (6 cloves, finely minced)

2 whole Thai bird’s eye chili (or 1 medium red fresno, serrano peppers)

½ oz Thai basil (or 0.6 oz Italian basil, a little over 1 cup loosely packed, plus more for garnish)

1 ½ tbsp Oyster sauce (or Vegetarian oyster sauce)

1 tbsp Fish sauce

1 tbsp light soy sauce (or 2 tbsp coconut aminos)

1 ½ tsp brown sugar (omit if using coco aminos)

1 tbsp water

Directions

Eggplant prep:

Slice off the tip ends of the eggplants. Rinse, drain, and slice it crosswise into 2.5-inch sections then quarter each section lengthwise.

Soak

In a large bowl, add the eggplants and fill the bowl with tap water with vinegar. Place a plate up-side-down on top of the eggplants to help them submerge under the water. Soak for 10 minutes.

Starch

After soaking, pat them dry and toss with starch.

Aromatics and sauce:

Mince

In the meantime, finely mince the garlic. For small Thai chili peppers, you can either leave it in whole (less spicy) or remove the seeds and dice it. If using fresno or serrano peppers, remove the seeds and dice it.

Sauce

Combine the sauce in a bowl.

Cook eggplants:

Preheat a large saute pan or wok pan over medium heat until it feels hot, add 3 tbsp oil. Swirl it around then add the eggplant.

Pan fry

Turn heat up to medium-high. Add the eggplants and spread them out into a single layer. Pan fry the first side for 3 minutes. Flip the eggplants and add the remaining 0.5 tbsp oil. Fry for another 2 minutes. Ensure all sides are cooked evenly and the eggplants turn into a softer texture.

Saute

Add the garlic and chili, toss for 10 seconds then pour in the sauce and finally toss in the basil. Toss everything together for 30 seconds and turn off the heat.

Serving:

Serve

Transfer them to a large serving plate. Garnish with more basil on top. Serve hot or warm with a bowl of steamed rice.

Nutrition

• Calories: 178 kcal
• Total Fat: 13 g
• Saturated Fat: 1 g
• Unsaturated Fat: 11 g
• Sodium: 803 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 16 g
• Dietary Fiber: 4 g
• Total Sugars: 6 g
• Protein: 2 g