Sweet and Sour Eggplant With Garlic Chips Recipe (2024)

Couldn't disagree more with the Ouzo K. Since I was making this as a side dish, I divided the recipe in half for 2 servings and "lightened" my regular soy sauce with about 30% water. The dish wouldn't be "sweet" (with the sour) without the brown sugar, and the cilantro blends well with the basil (used Thai basil) to which I added a bit of mint. On second thought, perhaps Ouzo K didn't make the dish and was just commenting on his thoughts about how he would prepare it.

This is stupidly delicious. I had to hide the garlic chips after making them so the hubby and I wouldn’t EAT THEM ALL before dinner. Added some mint into the basil/cilantro. Couldn’t find Japanese eggplant (hrmph) so subbed one medium more-oval-than-round Italian eggplant. I think it would be better with Japanese. Served with black rice, blistered green beans with garlic, ginger and sesame, and pre-made potstickers for a nice Friday evening dinner.

Great recipe as is, but to take it up a notch try using Chinese black vinegar instead of rice wine vinegar. This will make it more sour and add a depth of flavour that will suit lovers of strong & bold tastes.

I tried to make it without the sugar but definitely felt like it was missing something, don’t skip that! Paired with soba noodles, which I DO recommend!

I added some crispy tofu, so I doubled the sauce. I also added a bit of cornstarch to help thicken it. This was great and not difficult despite the extra step of cooking the garlic chips.

I am addicted to this dish. As always, ignore the recommended garlic quantity and measure the slices out with your biting, burning, garlic-soaked, vampire-protected soul.

This is an excellent quick recipe. Leaving out the sugar will make it something other that the what it is: rooted deeply in Thai and Viet cooking. As for the herbs, rather than have them go bad, I doubled down on chopped cilantro and mint. A splash of lime didn’t hurt either. Served w NYTs Vietnamese meat balls, leftover Asian pickled red cabbage, and rice. 45 minutes and the kids were raving. It really was very good and will make again. Love the garlic chips!

Wonderful! Since I only had a regular eggplant, I salted it for 15 minutes, rinsed it and patted it dry. The salting paid off, as I did not have to add extra oil, and the lovely garlic flavor shone through. And since, for my palate, cilantro is in the same food group as Dawn Dish Detergent, I used flat-leafed parsley with the basil.

This was a revelation in cooking eggplant! Somehow so much faster and simpler than any other time you use it, with delicious results. Made as written, served over rice with a fried egg on top. Perfect.

I made this as stated--couldn't get Japanese eggplants, but Italian were fine. I made 1 1/2 times eggplant amount (this is a favorite dish of mine--I always order it in restaurants), and the other 1/2 large sh*takes. Doubled the sauce, as I served it with fried tofu and brown rice. It was enough for three generous dinners. I lived in Asia for 10 years. This is authentic Chinese, with Vietnamese herbs-- better than most US restaurants, where it can be somewhat sharp and too oily. Excellent!

I would skip the brown sugar, as well as cilantro.

This was excellent. After making the garlic chips, I panfried a 1/2 lb. of ground pork, got it crispy, then removed for the pan and continued as written. Added the pork back in just before the sauce. My eggplant took much longer to get as seared and wrinkly as I like, but it was so worth the wait. Served with rice and smashed cucumber salad and will repeat again and again!

I thought this dish was to die for. My local supermarket didn't have Japanese eggplant, so I had to use a regular eggplant. I found that it took more than 3 to 4 minutes to cook the garlic chips. I am not sure that cooking the eggplant in the garlic oil made a difference since after the first batch of eggplant, I had to add more oil. The addition of red pepper fIakes gave it a nice twang. made about 3 servings as a main dish. I served the eggplant over rice.

Absolutely delicious. I took liberties with the produce (regular eggplant, mint and scallions in place of basil and cilantro) but made the sauce exactly as directed. Fantastic.

OK. Couldn't disagree more with the Ouzo K. Where did you see that? I can't find it anywhere in this recipe. It's not even suggested as a beverage.

I made this using Kecap Manis, Indonesian sweet soy sauce I made myself! SUPER easy, found recipe looking for best brand to buy; what does it say that I had all of the ingredients...?! 1 c dark soy sauce1 c coconut palm sugar2" piece ginger, quartered3 - 4 garlic cloves, cut in half1 tbsp molasses2 star anise2 cloves (Added 1 tsp ea. black and Sichuan peppercorns)Simmer 10-15 minutes, stirring a lot, cool, strain, jar -- bang, incredible condiment!(Credit #daringgourmet)

The sauce comes together in a snap and is delicious. I 1.5x'd the sauce and added 16 oz. baked extra firm tofu. Served over rice. Stir-fried carrots and baby bok choy as a side.

I made this and while it tasted good. For 3 people, I should have used at least another pound of eggplant; maybe a pound a person, even. In the end, following a suggestion from another reader, I added a 14 oz package of extra-firm tofu to the mix.

Loved this recipe! Very easy to make. The hardest part was finding Japanese Eggplant! I served it over rice with tofu to make it a full meal. Also, possibly controversial opinion, this dish doesn’t need the garlic chips. I found them to be overwhelming and take away from all the other flavors.

Excellent and quick dinner. I did use regular eggplant, and cooked the slices in the microwave to reduce the amount of oil. Substituted black vinegar in the sauce per other comments. Added edamame for protein and sautéed onions & bell peppers to up the veg content, to make it a hearty vegan meal. Will be making this again!

Changed it up a little. Used regular eggplant, served over pasta and added a little pasta water near the end if the cook to make more sauce. Go BIG with the herbs!

Definitely salt, drain, rinse, and dry the eggplants before cooking. This will help eliminate their bitterness.

Delicious. I added zucchini to the eggplant, and halved the sugar, and added mint along with the basil! Next time, I'll add a protein to make it a main dish!

Only put a teaspoonful of the sugar as SO is sensitive to and hates sweetness in any dinner, which I realize kind of defeats the purpose of this dish; but it was delicious without the sugar. I added orange and red peppers which gave us enough sweetness. I also used black vinegar and golden mountain sauce instead of soy and oyster because I love it. Would highly recommend this dish. I would suggest making extra garlic chips as they get eaten fast.

Great vegetarian main I’ve added to my monthly rotation. I usually double the sauce and add baked firm tofu

Yum! Wow delicious flavours…. I didn’t want to use too much oil so I kept back half of it (to use in a salad dressing) and it was amazing, thank you Sue. I love a dish covered in herbs x

Brown rice on the side and added garbanzos to the eggplant for the last few minutes of sautéing. Delicious.

Farmers market only had Chinese eggplant which is great substitute. Served over rice. Incredible! Next time will try coconut rice and double all ingredients for the sauce — who doesn’t like more sauce??

This dish was loved by all as written. I might make even more garlic chips next time.

Can the Garlic Chips be air-fried?