Chinese Eggplant Stir-Fry: Light and Vegan

Various Eggplants

I love finding great recipes that we can veganize without sacrificing flavor or nutritional value! Fans of eggplant, such as myself, know how versatile this veggie is!  This recipe is already perfect for vegans and non-vegans alike and has lightened up on the heavily oily Chinese restaurant version of this favorite.  It’s rare that you can find an easy Chinese food recipe that doesn’t call for lots of exotic ingredients. The original recipe, from Hungry Girl, called for a no-calorie sweetener like Splenda or Truvia but I used agave instead. Of course, you can use Chinese or Japanese eggplant if your store carries it but I used the regular type.  I ladled it over rice with a side of steamed broccoli seasoned with a squirt of lemon juice, garlic powder and salt and pepper.

Chinese Eggplant Stir-Fry

adapted from Hungry Girl

Ingredients

2 tsp cornstarch

2 tbsp reduced sodium lite soy sauce

4 tsp sweet Asian chili sauce

1 tsp agave syrup

1 tsp sesame oil

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

2 large eggplants, peeled can cut into 1” cubes

2 tsp minced garlic

5 chopped scallions

Directions 

1) First make the sauce–in a small bowl, combine cornstarch with 1/2 cup cold water and stir to dissolve.  Add soy sauce, agave, sesame oil and red pepper flakes.  Mix well.

2) In a large skillet, spray with non-stick spray and heat to medium-high.  Cook and stir eggplant until mostly softened, 8-10 minutes

3) Add garlic and continue to cook and stir until eggplant is soft and garlic is fragrant, about 2 minutes.

4) Stir in sauce mixture and add to the wok.  Add scallions and cook and stir until sauce has thickened, about 1 minute.

Vegan Eggplant Stir-Fry

Enjoy!

xox Ellen

Leaning Into Veganism