Oven Baked Eggplant
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Category
Vegetarian
Ingredients
- 2 big eggplants or 3 small eggplants
- 2.5 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 1/2 cup -of finely minced garlic
- 1/4 cup of diced red onion
- 1/4 cup of diced red chilies You can use bell pepper if you can’t eat spicy food
- 1/4 cup of diced green chilies
- 1/4 cup of cilantro stems I reserved the leaves and some diced chili as garnish.
- 2 tbsp of Sichuan doubanjiang if you don’t like spicy food, you can use non-spicy soybean paste 黄豆酱
- 2 tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine
- some cornstarch water 1 tsp of cornstarch + 2 tbsp of water
Directions
Simply place the eggplant on a baking pan and preheat the oven to 370 degrees Fahrenheit. Bake it for 25 minutes. The one I used is Chinese long eggplant. I have tried with round eggplants before. It didn’t work as well so be sure to stick with Chinese long eggplants.
- While waiting, we can make a sauce. In a sauce pot, add in 2.5 tbsp of oil. If you are a meat eater, you can add some minced meat right here and stir it until cooked through. I am keeping this recipe vegan so I am not adding any meat. 1/2 cup of finely minced garlic, 1/4 cup of diced red onion, 1/4 cup of diced red and green chilies, 1/4 cup of cilantro stems. I actually using jalapons because I can’t find Chinese chilies. If you can’t take spicy food you can use bell pepper.
- Eggplant is a pretty plain vegetable so the flavor really depends on what aromatic and seasoning you add in. You don’t need to do exactly the same as I did, just make sure it fits your taste. Stir them until fragrant. Then add in the seasoning: 2 tbsp of Sichuan doubanjiang (If you don’t like spicy food, you can use non-spicy soybean paste. You can find both of these sauce in almost any Chinese grocery), 2 tbsp of soy sauce, 2 tbsp of Chinese cooking wine. Mix them together and add some cornstarch water ( 1 tsp of cornstarch + 2 tbsp of water). Stir it until the sauce thickens a little bit. It takes a minute or 2 then turn off the heat.
- Now let’s check out the eggplant. Let it cool down a little bit so your hands can handle it. Take a knife and cut it open. Make sure you don’t cut through the skin. I like to do a long cut on each side of the eggplant then turn the knife to make some patterns. It helps the eggplant to absorb the flavor. Flip it over to check if you break the skin or not. Spoon the sauce all over the eggplants. Make sure the sauce covers the eggplant completely. If there is a spot that is exposed, it will come out a little dry after the second baking.
- Put this back in the oven for 6-8 minutes and you are done. Sprinkle some chilies and cilantro as garnish. You can serve it with white rice or just eat it right away. The eggplant is so soft and super flavorful. It is also extremely garlicky which is why I love about this dish.
- Enjoy your meal! If you have any questions about the recipes, just post a comment, will help you out as soon as possible!
