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Thai Basil Eggplant Stir Fry

Thai Basil Eggplant Stir Fry

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Learn how to make Thai Basil Eggplants at home – eggplants sliced and stir fried with Thai Basil in s chili soy sauce – easy and flavorful.

Thai Basil Eggplant Stir Fry is so tasty and so easy to make. Even those that are not eggplant fans find it super tasty. The sauce this one comes with is yum on white rice, or you can mix it with some noodles for a Thai Basil Eggplant noodle dish too!

By the way, if you love this recipe, be sure to also check out my Chinese Eggplants in Garlic Sauce recipe here!

This recipe calls for only X ingredients! The main ingredients are the eggplants and the basil. So Let’s look at what types to use!

Type of Eggplants

There are actually so many different types of eggplants! For example, you can use Italian eggplants for Eggplant Parmesan, American eggplants for grilling (or air fry!).

For this recipe, we are going to use Chinese Eggplants. Japanese Eggplants would also work well for this.

chinese eggplants
Chinese Eggplants

For preparation, we will wash the eggplants, and then cut off and remove the top and end of the eggplant. Then, cut the eggplant in to slices.

Types of Basil

Unsurprisingly, this recipe calls for Thai Basil, and that is the recommended type of basil to use for this dish. However, if you can’t find any Thai Basil, you can use other types of basil.

A popular basil substitute for Thai basil is the Italian basil. This will give you the most similar basil flavor.

Thick Soy Sauce

I do not use regular soy sauce for this recipe. I use Thick Soy Sauce, aka Soy Paste. There’s actually many different types of soy sauce! Thick soy sauce is a lot thicker than your normal soy sauce. It has a richer, sweeter flavor, which is perfect for this dish.

If you can’t find any thick soy sauce, you can actually use regular soy sauce. If you do this route, here’s a couple of recommendations:

  • Add some sort of sweetener. Since Thick soy sauce is more sweet, you are now missing a flavor, so I would recommend adding a bit of sugar or sweetener of your choice.
  • Thicken it. Since Thick soy sauce is, well duh, more thick, you may want to add something to thicken the sauce. To do this, you can mix cornstarch and water in a separate bowl to create a thickener, and then adding it to the dish prior to adding the basil.

Or even more simple – Oyster sauce can often be used as a substitute because it is similar in texture and it is also salty and sweet at the same time.

Chili Bean Paste / Doubanjiang

The chili sauce/paste I often use is called Chili Bean Sauce aka Doubanjiang.

Chilli Bean Paste aka Doubanjiang 豆瓣酱, is a chunky sauce you can buy at the store that is spicy and savory. It’s traditionally made from fermented broad beans, chili peppers, soybeans, salt and flour. There are also different ones you can find, for example some will add spicy chili oil in it already.

Chili Bean Paste is often used in Sichuan food (ex: mapo tofu), which might explain why I love it because I love Sichuan food (and my grandma was from there!). I use it in my Szechuan ChickenTwice Cooked Pork and Jalapeno Chicken.

You can buy it at your local Asian super market or even on Amazon such as this one: Lee Kum Kee LKK Chili Bean Sauce (Toban Djan).

How to make Thai Basil Eggplant?

Now let’s get to cooking!

Ingredients

  • 2 Chinese eggplants, cut in to 2 inch length
  • 1 tbsp thick soy sauce aka soy paste or Thai Sweet Soy Sauce
  • 1 tbsp chili bean paste, Doubanjiang
  • Cooking oil/fat of choice
  • 1 bunch Thai basil leaves
  • 1 tsp sugar (optional)
  • 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp salt

Instructions

Slice eggplants in to 1 to 2 inch length.

Place eggplants in a bowl and fill with water. Add 1 tbsp of salt and either vinegar or lemon juice, and mix well. Allow it to soak for about 15 minutes. This helps keep the eggplants from browning and helps keep it more ‘purple’.

Remove from water, and pat dry with paper towel.

In a wok or cooking pan, add eggplants and thick soy sauce, chili bean paste, and sugar (optional), and stir fry for about 5 minutes or until eggplants are cooked thoroughly.

At the very end, add the basil, and turn off the heat. Stir to mix well. This helps keep it green.

Thai Basil Eggplant Stir Fry

Remove from cooking pan or wok and serve!

Thai Basil Eggplant Stir Fry
Thai Basil Eggplant Stir Fry
Thai Basil Eggplant Stir Fry

Thai Basil Eggplant Stir Fry

Thai Basil Eggplant Stir Fry

Learn how to make Thai Basil Eggplants at home – eggplants sliced and stir fried with Thai Basil in s chili soy sauce – easy and flavorful.

Ingredients

  • 2 Chinese eggplants, cut in to 2 inch length
  • 1 tbsp thick soy sauce aka soy paste
  • 1 tbsp chili bean paste, Doubanjiang
  • Cooking oil/fat of choice
  • 1 bunch Thai basil leaves
  • 1 tsp sugar (optional)
  • 1 tbsp vinegar or lemon juice
  • 1 tbsp salt

Instructions

    1. Slice eggplants in to 1 to 2 inch length.
    2. Place eggplants in a bowl and fill with water. Add 1 tbsp of salt and either vinegar or lemon juice, and mix well. Allow it to soak for about 15 minutes. This helps keep the eggplants from browning and helps keep it more ‘purple’.
    3. Remove from water, and pat dry with paper towel.
    4. In a wok or cooking pan, add eggplants and thick soy sauce, chili bean paste, and sugar (optional), and stir fry for about 5 minutes or until eggplants are cooked thoroughly.
    5. At the very end, add the basil, and turn off the heat. Stir to mix well. This helps keep it green.
    6. Remove from cooking pan or wok and serve!

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 146Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 4gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 2084mgCarbohydrates: 27gFiber: 7gSugar: 10gProtein: 3g

The nutrition information for this recipe is an approximate total per serving. Please double check the nutrition information for your exact ingredients and brands for more precise nutrition information.

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Thai Basil Eggplants stir fry

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Jonathan

Monday 14th of August 2023

We grew Chinese eggplants in our garden and came across this recipe. It was delicious!

TinaTsai

Friday 18th of August 2023

So glad you liked it! :D

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