Eggplant with Tomato

Eggplant with tomato stir fry is a delightful summer dish that is perfect for a side and satisfying as a main. The eggplant is slightly charred, cooked with tender tomato in an aromatic savory brown sauce. It’s very easy to put together for your weekday dinner! {Vegetarian Adaptable, Gluten-Free Adaptable}

Eggplant is one of the most popular ingredients in Chinese cooking and there are so many ways to cook it. For example, the crowd pleaser eggplant with garlic saucethe addictive yu xiang eggplant (Sichuan style eggplant)the easy and hearty mapo eggplantthe super fun fried stuffed eggplantor the refreshing eggplant salad. And they all have different textures and flavors.

Today I want to share a very popular homestyle eggplant dish that you rarely see in the restaurant – stir fried eggplant with tomato.

The eggplant is pan fried until lightly charred and tender, and it is cooked with tomato in a savory, slightly tangy and sweet brown sauce. It is super easy to put together and bold in flavor. No matter if you’re serving it as a side or a main dish over steamed rice, this one is great for your weekday dinner.

Eggplant with tomato ingredients

What type of eggplant to use

For the best result, you should use Chinese eggplant or Japanese eggplant. These long and skinny eggplants contain less moisture than American and other Western eggplant. They char up beautifully in a stir fry and do not turn mushy easily.

You can easily find Chinese eggplant in Chinese and Japanese grocery stores, and at large Asian markets. You can also find it at many large grocery stores like Whole Foods, or at local vegetable markets when in season.

If you cannot find Chinese eggplant, you can also use American or Italian eggplant instead. The dish will have a slightly different texture but be delicious nonetheless.

Set up

When you’re ready to cook, your table should have:

• Sliced eggplant
• Sliced tomato
• Mixed sauce
• Aromatics (green onion and garlic)

How to make eggplant tomato stir fry

Making eggplant tomato stir fry is super easy:

1. Pan fry the eggplant
2. Saute the garlic and green onion
3. Cook the tomato until tender
4. Add back the eggplant and the sauce, mix together

Eggplant absorbs quite a lot of oil during cooking. I find using 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil is the sweet spot, that’s where the eggplant will sear properly without using too much oil. If you are concerned about oil consumption, you can also use oil spray instead. The oil spray ensures all the eggplants are properly coated with a minimal amount of oil so they won’t become too dry during cooking.

Once the dish is done, the tender eggplant and tomato are coated with the sticky brown sauce that is rich and full of fragrance. It is so delicious!

How to serve eggplant with tomato

Eggplant with tomato is a very satisfying veggie dish to serve over steamed rice as a main. If you’re making a multi-course dinner, you can also make this dish as a side. For a summer dinner, you can also make a noodle dish such as sesame noodles or cold chicken noodlesand use the eggplant with tomato as another topping to add more color to your meal.

Other delicious veggie recipes

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Eggplant with Tomato

Eggplant with tomato stir fry is a delightful summer dish that is perfect for a side and satisfying as a main. The eggplant is slightly charred, cooked with tender tomato in an aromatic savory brown sauce. It’s very easy to put together for your weekday dinner! {Vegetarian Adaptable, Gluten-Free Adaptable}To make the dish gluten-free, use tamari to replace the light and dark soy sauce, and use rice vinegar to replace Chinkiang vinegar. The dish will have a lighter color due to the lack of dark soy sauce but should still be very tasty.To make the dish vegetarian or vegan, use vegetable broth to replace the chicken broth.

Author: Maggie Zhu

Course: Main, Side

Cuisine: Chinese

Keyword: homestyle

Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 30 minutes minutes

Servings: 2 to 4 servings

Ingredients

• 2 (1 lb / 450 g) Chinese eggplants cut into large bite-size pieces
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir fry

• 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or vegetable oil)
• 2 cloves garlic sliced
• 1 green onion sliced
• 1 large tomato sliced to large bite-size pieces

Instructions

• Add the sliced eggplant into a big bowl and water to cover. Add the 1/2 teaspoon salt and stir to dissolve completely. Let soak for 15 minutes while preparing the other ingredients. Once done, drain the eggplant, rinse again with cold tap water to remove any salt. Drain again and pat dry with paper towels.

• Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.

• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. Add the eggplant. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant has lightly charred and softened. Transfer the eggplant to a big plate and set aside.

• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil, garlic and green onion. Stir a few times to release the fragrance.

• Add the tomato. Cook and stir for another 2 minutes, until the tomato starts to break down. Then add back the eggplant.

• Stir the sauce again to dissolve the cornstarch completely. Pour into the pan. Stir and cook until the sauce thickens. Transfer everything to a plate and serve hot as a main or side dish.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving, Calories: 170kcal, Carbohydrates: 18g, Protein: 2.8g, Fat: 10.6g, Saturated Fat: 1.8g, Sodium: 394mg, Potassium: 474mg, Fiber: 5.9g, Sugar: 8.7g, Calcium: 37mg, Iron: 1mg