Tomato and Eggplant Stir Fry
An interpretation of stir fried eggplant combining Chinese and Thai flavors. A great stir fry recipe to use up tomatoes!
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant or 3 Chinese eggplants
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup peanuts
- 3 tbsp light oil like avocado oil
- 1 chili your choice, see note
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 tbsp ginger minced
- 2 medium shallots sliced lengthwise
- 3 sprigs thai basil or regular basil
- 1 lb roma tomatoes 3-4 medium tomatoes
- 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
- 2 tbsp soy sauce
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce see note
- 2 scallions, green parts sliced
Instructions
- Slice eggplant into ¾"x3" sticks. In a medium bowl, toss them with the salt and allow to sit while you are prepping the rest of your ingredients. Slice the tomatoes in a similar fashion, lengthwise.
- Mix the sugar, soy sauce, hoisin and 2 tablespoons of water in a small bowl, set aside.
- After about 20 minutes rinse the eggplant and pat dry.
- Place a large non stick pan or wok over medium heat. Toast the peanuts for a few minutes before adding the oil, garlic, ginger and the chili, stir fry for about 30 seconds.
- Add the Thai basil sprigs and the shallot. Stir fry for 30 seconds more. Turn the heat up to medium high. Add the eggplant and cook, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes. Once the eggplant is cooked through, add the tomatoes. Cook for another 5 minutes until the tomatoes are soft, but not mushy.
- Pour in sauce mixture. Stir-fry for another 1-2 minutes until sauce thickens a bit. Garnish with scallions. Serve with rice if desired.
Notes
If you don't have hoisin sauce you can replace it with 1tsp soy sauce + 1 tsp sugar +1/4 tsp Chinese 5 spice.
I use a dried chili de arbol for very mild heat. You can use any chili you like, fresh or dried. A Thai chili, sliced down the middle, would be a good choice if you like more heat.