An easy Chinese eggplant recipe (鱼香茄子) made with perfectly cooked Asian eggplant without frying or using a steamer and cooked in a delicious garlic sauce made with ground pork.

Table of Contents
Chinese eggplant with garlic sauce, also known as Yu Xiang Qiezi (鱼香茄子) literally translates to fish-fragrant eggplant but doesn't have any fish in it at all. This is a warm and cozy dish and is traditionally made with deep-fried eggplants tossed in a sweet, sour, savory, and spicy meat sauce.
This iconic popular classic Chinese dish is a favorite amongst char siu, sweet and sour pork, Cantonese chow mein, beef chow fun and it is definitely one of my favorite takeouts to order at a restaurant.
Traditionally, this Chinese eggplant dish is made by deep-frying eggplant, which quickly cooks the eggplant all the way through and retains the beautiful purple color.
For my Chinese eggplant recipe, I kept it simple without deep frying it. Instead, we will mimic the deep frying process in the frying pan and use steam to cook the eggplant all the way through all in the same frying pan.
This makes this Chinese eggplant recipe easier to make without the extra equipment and makes the dish less greasy/oily.
My favorite part of this yu xiang qiezi eggplant recipe is eating it with a bowl of white rice and smothering it in the delicious garlic meat sauce.
There are many Asian eggplant recipes out there, each with its own twist. If you're looking for one that's garlicky, and savory with a touch of sweetness then this is the one for you!
That being said, I'm super happy I can replicate my favorite eggplant dish at home now and share it all with you, shall we start?
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Chinese eggplant (Asian eggplant) - For this recipe, you should use Chinese eggplant. Do not use Italian eggplant for this recipe, it has a bitter flavor and does not have the same sweetness to it.
- Ground Pork - Traditionally, Chinese eggplant recipes use ground pork, but you can substitute it with ground chicken/turkey.
- Sweet Red Pepper - Peppers give the sauce an additional layer of flavor.
- Onion - This is a very important ingredient and should not be left out. Alternatively, you can also use shallots as well.
- Green Onions\Scallions - This will add a bit of flavor to the sauce. I like to separate the whites from the green and cook the whites with the sauce and save the greens as a garnish at the very end.
Garlic Eggplant Sauce Ingredients
- Soy Sauce and Sugar - Soy sauce will be the main source of umami and saltiness for this dish and sugar will be the main source of sweetness.
- Chinkiang Black Vinegar - The black vinegar brings a bit of flavor to the tanginess of the sauce but if you cannot find it, you can substitute it with rice vinegar. You can buy this at any Asian grocery store or online on Amazon.
- Ketchup - This is not a traditional ingredient in Chinese eggplant but it is my secret ingredient for the garlic sauce recipe. It's a must-have and should not be omitted or substituted. The ketchup will bring all the flavors of the sauce together and give it that perfect balance of sweetness, tang, and saltiness.
- Garlic - A very important ingredient that will flavor the sauce. Cannot be omitted.
- Red Chili Pepper - I like to use 1 birds eye chili for the recipe for a bit of heat. It is optional and can be left out if you don't want it spicy.
- Corn Starch - This is used as a thickener for the sauce, but it is also used as the ground pork marinade as well to give it a less tough texture once it has been cooked.
Tips
- You can double the 'Sauce' section to get a saucier final dish.
- Ketchup is not a traditional ingredient in this recipe but it is my secret ingredient for this recipe. It's an important ingredient and should not be omitted or substituted. The ketchup will bring all the flavors of the sauce together and give it that perfect balance of sweetness, tang, and saltiness.
- If you are using a wok, or any seasoned pan for this recipe, make sure you quickly wash off the sauce right after you have finished cooking it so that the vinegar doesn't strip off the seasoning from your pan.
How to Make Chinese Garlic Eggplant
Prepare the Eggplant, Vegetables, and Sauce
- Wash the eggplant and cut off the tops. You can cut them a few ways. The simplest way to cut them is to cut the eggplant into 2-3 inches lengthwise, and 1 inch thick.
- Soak the eggplant in water. You don't need to add any vinegar or salt, just plain water. Use a small plate to weigh them down so they stay submerged in the water. The soaking will help with cooking the eggplant with the 'quick steam' method I will be using for this recipe. Soak it for about 5-10 minutes.
- While the eggplant is soaking, finely chop the onions, green onions, red chili (or optional red pepper) and garlic cloves and set this aside.
- Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Make sure you are using cold water to prevent the cornstarch from clumping. Set the sauce aside for later.
Marinate the Minced Pork
- I like to marinate the minced pork with a bit of cooking wine and cornstarch. It's an optional step but will add a bit of flavor and better texture to the final dish. I also find the cooking wine removes some of the porky flavor as well.
How to Cook Chinese Eggplant
- Drain the water from the eggplant and set it aside.
- Add some oil into the pan to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and set it to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add the eggplant skin side down. Adding it skin side down, will mimic the 'deep frying' and keep the skins purple and prevent the eggplant from absorbing the oil. Cook them skin side down for about 3 minutes. If all the eggplant doesn't fit in the pan, you may have to cook it in 2 batches.
- Once 3 minutes is up, add ½ cup of water into the pan and put a lid on it. This will 'steam' them until they are soft. Steam the eggplant for about 3-5 minutes.
- Once 3-5 minutes is up, remove the lid. The eggplant should be soft by now. If there is still a bit of water left, you can continue to cook the eggplant with the lid off until all the water dissolves. Move the eggplant off to another dish and set it aside for later.
- Add a bit more oil back into the pan. Once the pan is hot, add in the pork and cook it for approximately 3-4 minutes or until it is no longer pink.
- Add in the garlic, onions, green onions, chili peppers, and sweet red peppers, and toast everything together for about 1-2 minutes until everything is fragrant.
- Stir the sauce mixture (the cornstarch would have settled on the bottom) and add it to the pan and keep stirring until the sauce has thickened. Cook everything for about 1-2 minutes.
- Add the eggplant back in, and str fry it for about 1 minute to let the eggplant absorb some of the sauce. At this point, don't cook the eggplant for more than 1 minute or it will turn too soft and break up and dissolve into the sauce.
- Garnish it with some green onions and serve it with white rice and a side of vegetables and enjoy!
FAQs
No, you shouldn't peel the eggplant for this dish because the skin is what is holding the eggplant together and without it, it would become very mushy and would almost become dip-like.
Italian eggplant is much larger than Asian eggplant and also has a bitter flavor to it (which is why you always need to salt it to draw out the bitter liquids within it before you use it). Chinese eggplant has no bitterness to it, and when cooked all the way through actually has a sweet flavor with a creamy texture.
It doesn't have a lot of flavor, but it has a bit of a creamy sweetness to it. It absorbs whatever sauces it is cook in very well so it is an excellent carrier of sauce.
When I shop for Asian eggplant, I like to look for eggplant that is bright purple. It should not have any brown spots on it and it should not be wrinkled/shrived as that is an indication that it has been sitting at the store for too long. To pick out tender eggplant, it should be slightly bendable as well.
You definitely can! When I am out of black vinegar, I use rice vinegar as a substitute. It's not exactly the same but it gives it the right amount of tartness.
More Takeout Recipes You May Like
- Sweet and Sour Pork
- Beef Chow Fun
- Singapore Noodles
- Chilli Chicken
- Crispy Cantonese Beef Chow Mein
- Sweet and Sticky Crispy Beef
- Chicken Manchurian
- Saucy Beef Ho Fun Noodles with Gravy
- Hong Kong Style Sweet and Sour Chicken
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Recipe Card
Chinese Eggplant with Garlic Sauce (鱼香茄子)
Recipe Notes
- You can double the 'Sauce' section to get a saucier final dish.
- Do not use Italian eggplant for this recipe, it has a bitter flavor and does not have the same sweetness to it.
- Traditionally, Chinese eggplant recipes use ground pork, but you can substitute it with ground chicken/turkey.
- Ketchup is not a traditional Chinese eggplant ingredient but it is my secret ingredient for the garlic sauce recipe. It's a must-have and should not be omitted or substituted. The ketchup will bring all the flavors of the sauce together and give it that perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and saltiness.
- If you are using a wok, or any seasoned pan for this recipe, make sure you quickly wash off the sauce right after you have finished cooking it so that the vinegar doesn't strip off the seasoning from your pan.
Ingredients
- 2 Chinese eggplants
Aromatics for the Garlic Sauce
- ¼ onion (approx. 2 tablespoons), or 1 shallot
- 1 stalk green onions (finely chopped, whites and greens seperated)
- 3 cloves garlic (approx. 1 tablespoon)
- ¼ sweet red pepper (2 tablespoons, finely chopped)
- 1 birds eye chili (optional, if you like it spicy.)
Eggplant Sauce
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 2 teaspoon Chinkiang black vinegar (or 1 tablespoon of rice vinegar)
- ½ cup cold water
- ½ tablespoon corn starch
- 1 tablespoon ketchup
Pork Marinade
- ½ cup ground pork (120g)
- 1 teaspoon oil
- ¾ teaspoon corn starch
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon Shaoxing Cooking Wine (optional)
Instructions
Preparation
- Wash the eggplant and cut off the tops. You can cut them a few ways. The simplest way to cut them is to cut the eggplant into 2-3 inches lengthwise, and 1 inch thick.
- Soak the eggplant in water. Use a small plate to weigh them down so they stay submerged in the water. The soaking will help with cooking the eggplant with the 'quick steam' method I will be using for this recipe. Soak for 5-10 minutes.
- While the eggplant is soaking, finely chop the onions, green onions, red chili (or optional sweet red pepper) and, garlic and set this aside
- Mix all the sauce ingredients together. Make sure you are using cold water to prevent the cornstarch from clumping. Set the sauce aside for later.
- Marinate the ground pork with a bit of cooking wine, salt, oil and corn starch.
- Drain eggplant
Cook the Eggplant
- Add some oil into the pan to lightly coat the bottom of the pan and set it to medium heat.
- Once the pan is hot, add eggplant pieces in, skin side down against the hot oil. By adding it skin side down, it will mimic the 'deep frying' and keep the skins purple and prevent the eggplant from absorbing the oil. If you cannot fit all the eggplant in the pan, you may have to cook it in 2 batches. Cook it for about 3 minutes.
- Once 3 minutes is up, add ½ cup of water into the pan and put a lid on it. This will 'steam' them until they are soft. Steam the eggplant for about 3-5 minutes.
- Once 3-5 minutes is up, remove the lid. The eggplant should be soft by now. If there is still a bit of water left, you can continue to cook the eggplant with the lid off until all the water dissolves.
- Remove the eggplant out of the pan onto a plate and set aside for later
Make the Garlic Sauce and Add Eggplant Back
- Add a bit more oil back into the pan. Once the pan is hot, add in the pork and cook it for approximately 3-4 minutes or until it is fully cooked and no longer pink.
- Add in the aromatics (garlic, minced onions, chili (or red pepper), the whites from the green onions and cook it for 1-2 minutes with the pork.
- Stir the sauce (the corn starch may have settled to the bottom of the bowl). Add the sauce into the pan and keep stirring it until the sauce has thickened. (Approximately 1-2 minutes)
- Add the eggplant back in and stir fry everything together. Cook the eggplant in the sauce for about 1 minute. Do not overcook the eggplant at this point, once the eggplant is soft it is done. If you overcook it, the eggplant will become too soft and may dissolve into the sauce.
- Garnish it with the green part of the green onions that were set aside and serve it with white rice and a side of vegetables and enjoy!
Nutrition
*Nutritional information is calculated using online tools and is an estimate*
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Misha says
love your technique for cooking the eggplant but will play around with the sauce since it wasnt what I was expecting. it tastes like sloppy joes and if i had some buns around, I might eat it as a sandwich. But didn't taste asian-y enough for me.
Joyce Lee says
Hi Misha!
I'm sorry the flavours didn't resonate with you! I feel like my version is more of a hong kong style, and not the Szechuan style which may be why, but I'm super happy the technique worked for you! You can definitely use it and try this process and try it with your favour sauces!
Gloria says
What a great way to enjoy eggplant. Loving the sound of that sauce. Perfect for pork, chicken or beef.
Joyce Lee says
Hi Gloria,
The meat is definitely very easy to substitute and yes! The sauce is my fave part, its soooo good with white rice!
Jessica Formicola says
My family loves eggplant, but I've never tried it like this! This is on our dinner menu this week and I can't wait to try it!
Joyce Lee says
Hi Jessica!
Awesome, hope everyone enjoys this!
Shadi Hasanzade says
OMG the flavors! I love eggplant and I'm always looking for new ways to use it! Can't wait to try your recipe!
Joyce Lee says
Hi Shadi,
Hope you enjoy it!
Jess says
I love that I do not need to do any deep frying to enjoy this dish! Win-win!!
Joyce Lee says
Hi Jess,
I love that I don't need to deep fry this dish too. Makes it so easy now to have this anytime at home.
Erika says
What a beautiful eggplant dish. It's looks so delicious!
Josie says
This is a very healthy, popular dish.where eggplants can easily get in supermarkets .I really do love to cook anything that go with eggplants, For me, tthis unique recipe is the easiest and fast way to cook , especially the tasty sauce that mix with rice to eat. THANKS 👍👍.
Joyce Lee says
Hi Josie!
My favourite part of this recipe is the sauce too! haha It's so good with rice!