Cantonese Eggplant Casserole
Cantonese Eggplant Casserole It is a typical Cantonese culinary dish that is served completely 100% plant-based! Eggplant pieces cooked until very soft and soaked in spices, served in a thick, savory sauce rich in spices. Without animal ingredients, this dish still delivers a deep flavor, a combination of savory, slightly sweet, and fragrant onion aroma. The texture is soft yet firm, very delicious eaten with warm rice and is a special way to enjoy eggplant with its rich flavor!
Shared by Yung
Time
45 min
Serves
4
Difficulty
medium
🛒 Ingredients
- Two large purple eggplants, cut into medium-sized pieces lengthwise
- Enough oil for short frying
- Two stalks of spring onions, roughly chopped
- 1 red chili, sliced diagonally
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- One piece of ginger, thinly sliced/chopped
- One tablespoon of vegetable oyster sauce
- One tablespoon of soy sauce
- One teaspoon of sweet soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar/coconut sugar
- A little ground pepper
- 200 ml vegetable stock
- Dissolve one teaspoon of cornstarch in a little water.
👩🍳 Instructions
- 1
Prepare the eggplant: heat enough oil, fry the eggplant pieces briefly until the skin is slightly wilted and brown. Remove and drain the oil. This will prevent the eggplant from absorbing too much seasoning and will maintain its beautiful shape.
- 2
Saute the spices: leave a little of the used frying oil, saute the garlic and ginger over low heat until you can smell a strong aroma, make sure it doesn't burn.
- 3
Cook the spices: add the vegetable stock, add the vegetable oyster sauce, soy sauce, sugar and pepper. Stir well and let it simmer for a while to allow the flavors to blend perfectly. Taste and adjust if necessary.
- 4
Cook the eggplant: add the fried eggplant pieces to the spiced sauce. Reduce the heat, cover the pan/pot, and cook slowly for 10 to 15 minutes until the eggplant is completely soft and the spices have been absorbed perfectly into the eggplant fibers.
- 5
Thicken: Pour in the cornstarch solution little by little while stirring slowly until the sauce becomes thick and glossy to taste.
- 6
Serve: Sprinkle with sliced spring onions and red chilies. Serve hot directly in the cooking pot to maintain the flavor and temperature! Your special side dish is ready to be enjoyed!