Thai Basil Eggplant

If you’re looking for a delicious and easy way to prepare eggplant, you’ll love this dish. It’s simple to make and tastes amazing. Give it a try today!

Love an easy stir fry? Try this Eggplant Stir Fry, Ramen Noodle Stir Fry, Tempeh Stir Fry or Cashew Tofu Stir Fry next.

Ingredient Notes

Please scroll down the page to find the recipe card with ingredient measurements and full instructions.

• Soy Sauce: I used 3 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of dark soy sauce but if you don’t have dark soy sauce, use 4 tbsp soy sauce.
• Oyster Sauce: Use vegetarian oyster sauce for a vegetarian and vegan recipe.
• Rice Vinegar: You can use seasoned or unseasoned rice vinegar.
• Maple Syrup: You can use maple syrup, coconut sugar or brown sugar.
• Cornstarch: You can use cornstarch or arrowroot powder for thickening the sauce.
• Oil: You can use any neutral oil such as avocado oil or grape seed oil.
• Eggplant: You’ll need Japanese eggplant, or the long skinny ones! Japanese (or Chinese) eggplant are a bit more tender than regular eggplants so work well in a stir fry.
• Bell Pepper: The recipe calls for 1 yellow and 1 red bell pepper though you can use any colour you have on hand.
• Onion: You can use white or yellow onion for this recipe.
• Garlic and Ginger: Fresh (raw) garlic and ginger are best for this recipe rather than garlic powder or ground ginger. If you have to substitute the fresh ginger, you can use 1 tsp ground ginger and mix it into the sauce.
• Thai Chili: These are the small red chilies and are used to add heat to the recipe. Remove the seeds if you are sensitive to spice (I remove the seeds). Use 1-2 Thai chilies to your preference.
• Thai Basil: Thai basil (holy basil) is best for this recipe though you can use Italian basil in a pinch. Thai basil is definitely recommended here though.

Variations & Additions

• Baby bok choy, green onion and spinach work well as an addition to the stir fry. If using, add them when you add the peppers and onions.
• You can add or substitute vegetables like mushrooms, snow peas or snap peas, broccoli or carrot for the bell pepper. I would suggest keeping the onion in the recipe.
• Serve Thai eggplant with fresh basmati or jasmine rice.
• Garnish with more Thai basil and sliced scallions before serving.
• Pair with your choice of protein such as baked tofu or pan-fried tofu serving as a main dish.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prepare the sauce by whisking together the soy sauce, dark soy sauce, vegetarian oyster sauce, rice vinegar and maple syrup.

Quick Tip: The recipe calls for 3 tbsp soy sauce and 1 tbsp dark soy sauce but it’s totally fine to just use 4 tbsp of soy sauce (or tamari) if that’s what you have.

Step 2: Cook the eggplant.

Heat 1 tbsp of the oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat. Once it’s hot, add the eggplant and toss well to coat in the oil then spread the pieces evenly around the pan.

Sprinkle a little water over the eggplant, cover and cook for about 2-3 minutes, flip the pieces and sprinkle with a little more water, cover and cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove the lid and stir fry until the eggplant is golden brown. It should be tender but still holding its shape. We don’t want mushy eggplant here and it will cook a little more in the final step.

Remove the eggplant from the pan and set aside for now.

Step 3: Stir fry the peppers and onions.

Heat the other 1 tbsp of oil in the same pan and add the onions and bell pepper. Cook them for 5-6 minutes, stirring often.

Step 4: Add the garlic, ginger and Thai chili and cook them for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

For the Thai chilies, I found one chili with the seeds removed to be the right amount of heat for me. You can leave a few seeds in for a spicier dish and/or use 2 Thai chilies.

Step 5: Add the sauce you prepared and the cornstarch slurry.

Quick Tip: Make sure you give the slurry a stir before adding to the pan as the cornstarch will have settled on the bottom.

Step 6: Add the eggplant and Thai basil.

Once the sauce is simmering, add the eggplant and cook for about 2 minutes until the sauce thickens and the eggplant absorbs some of the sauce. Turn off the heat and stir in the Thai basil.

Serve your Thai eggplant over fresh Jasmine or Basmati rice, garnished with more Thai basil, if you like!

Expert Tips

1. Prepare everything before you start cooking as the recipe goes fast once you start.
2. Don’t chop up the eggplant until you’re ready to start cooking to avoid it browning.
3. Be sure to use Japanese or Chinese eggplant and not globe eggplants. Look for the long, skinny ones, not the fat ones!
4. Thai basil, or holy basil, is really best for flavour here so I’d recommend using that instead of Italian sweet basil.
5. You can omit the Thai chili if you’re sensitive to heat but I would suggest using one if you don’t mind just a little spice because it helps balance the sweet and salty flavours.
6. Be sure to slice the eggplant in more than 3/4-inch pieces so they don’t take too long to cook.

Storing

• Let the stir fry cool before storing.
• Store in a sealed container in the fridge for up to 3 days.
• Reheat in a pan or in the microwave until heated through.
• This recipe is not suitable for freezing. Well, you could but it wouldn’t really be the same after it thaws.