Szechuan Eggplant or sichuan eggplant refers to eggplant cooked the Chinese (specifically Szechuan province) way in a delicious Szechuan sauce. This Szechuan Eggplant recipe makes a very quick side dish for vegetable fried rice or noodles.
Making a side dish for Vegetable Fried Rice (or noodles) usually leaves me in a cloud of flour dust, crankiness due to the heat of the oil I need to deep fry stuff in (you know, for gobi manchurian and such) and the humidity in Singapore doesn’t help matters much.
While I would definitely agree that a finished Gobi Manchurian or Chilli Paneer is a thing of beauty and deliciousness, it’s not something I would make often simply because of the number of steps and the chances of messing up the kitchen and my hair.
This Szechuan Eggplant Recipe is a boon on such days. It’s so very easy to put together and tastes great and takes all of 20 mins to cook up. If you are not a fan of eggplant, may I take a few mins and try to convert you? No? Ok then, try Mushroom Szechuan or Tofu Szechuan or oh, a Paneer Szechuan.
Table of Contents
- What is Szechuan or Sichuan cuisine?
- Tips and Recipe Notes
- Related Recipes
- Jump to Recipe Card
- Step by Step Pictures to Make Szechuan Eggplant
What is Szechuan Cuisine?
It originates from the Sichuan province of China and is characterised by the bold flavours and pungency from garlic, pepper, and specifically, Sichuan peppercorn. If you haven’t tried Sichuan peppers, it’s quite a treat and very different from regular black pepper.
They look similar and are red in colour, and have a numbing spiciness to them which hit your tongue quite differently. If you do intend to use it in this recipe, do so sparingly. I omit Sichuan peppers when making Szechuan eggplant at home because we prefer the Indian-Chinese variation of Sichuan cuisine.
The Indian-Chinese take on Szechuan cuisine has a liberal use of garlic as well, and pepper too. They are usually sauce-based and quite delicious!
Szechuan Eggplant Recipe
Ingredients
- 3 cups eggplant cut into 1" wide wedges or cubes use the large, purple variety
- 5-6 shallots or pearl onions
- 1 teaspoon minced garlic add more if you can tolerate it
- 1 teaspoon red red chilli sauce Sriracha, Maggi, or even chilli flakes will work
- 2 tablespoons of soya sauce
- 1 teaspoon white vinegar
- 1 teaspoon cornflour or corn starch
- 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar or jaggery
- A fistful coriander leaves / cilantro
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper powder adjust to taste
- 2 tablespoons of sesame oil Indian gingelly oil or peanut oil
- 1 cup water
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a wide pan and when it starts to smoke, add the eggplant in 2 batches, frying until sticky and brown.
- Add salt and pepper to this, drain, and set aside
- In the same pan, more oil if required and fry the shallots until soft
- To this, add the red chilli sauce (or flakes) and minced garlic. Saute for a few seconds
- Meanwhile, mix the soya sauce, vinegar, corn starch, sugar, and some salt in a bowl to make the Szechuan sauce
- Add this to the shallot mixture and cook on medium-high heat until it starts to bubble
- Tip in the fried eggplant and mix well until the sauce coats the eggplant
- Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with fried rice or noodles. Goes great even with plain steamed rice
Notes
- You can coat the eggplant in some plain flour or rice flour before frying, for a more crisp coating around it
- You can also deep fry the eggplant instead of pan-frying
- Don’t skimp on the pepper. To make an even more authentic version, use szechuan pepper powder
- Adjust the heat to your preference, I generally don’t make it too spicy
- If you don’t have coriander leaves in hand, you can also use spring onions to garnish, or even toasted sesame seeds
- You can use spring onions or regular purple onions (scallions, green onions) instead of the shallots too, for a different flavour
- Use the Asian eggplant for best results. They are long and purple. If not available where you live, use the regular fat eggplant or smaller purple Indian brinjal
Step by Step Pictures for Szechuan Eggplant
1. Heat oil and fry the eggplant in 2-3 batches
… until soft, browned, and sticky. Add salt and pepper, drain and set aside.
2. In same pan, add more oil if needed, and fry the shallots.
3. Add chilli sauce and minced garlic and saute some more.
4. Meanwhile, make the Schezwan Sauce by mixing the corn starch, soya sauce, vinegar, brown sugar, and some salt
5. Add water to the shallot mixture and top off with the Schezwan Sauce
6. When it boils and starts bubbling, add the eggplant
7. Mix well and cook through until sauce coats the eggplant fully.
Tips and Recipe Notes
- You can coat the eggplant in some plain flour or rice flour before frying, for a more crisp coating around it
- You can also deep fry the eggplant instead of pan-frying
- Don’t skimp on the pepper. To make an even more authentic version, use szechuan pepper powder
- Adjust the heat to your preference, I generally don’t make it too spicy
- If you don’t have coriander leaves in hand, you can also use spring onions to garnish, or even toasted sesame seeds
- You can use spring onions or regular purple onions (scallions, green onions) instead of the shallots too, for a different flavour
- Use the Asian eggplant for best results. They are long and purple. If not available where you live, use the regular fat eggplant or smaller purple Indian brinjal
- Add lots more garlic to the recipe for a distinct, Sichuan kick. Add as much as you can tolerate
- Try adding 2-3 crushed Sichuan peppercorn to the recipe for a very distinct and interesting flavour
delicious and came out so good!
I made this tonight. It was good but I would have liked the sauce to be a bit sweeter. Maybe 1 Tbst of brown sugar instead on 1 tsp. Otherwise, good amount of sauce and quite tasty!
did this as. quick dish for dinner today. I’m not even a good cook. came out real good. family loved it! might become a regular dish.
so good to hear that 🙂
Thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
It’s awesome! So delicious!
Has become a regular dish in our home.
Great recipe. I actually doubled it because I had just enough eggplant but had a few mushrooms to do away with. I quartered the mushrooms and added them and two more tbsp of peanut oil when the eggplant was half done.
Just a word of caution. There is a cup of water in the ingredient list that is not included in the boxed instructions that get printed when you click the print button. I realized later that the cup of water is included in the instructions that included pictures. I didn’t use the water and the sauce turned out very thick, but yummy nonetheless.
Tip: chop or slice the shallots. I used pearl onions whole so which is fine as they are small. Might be obvious for most, not so much for some.
Really good