A couple of years ago, before I started this blog, I spent some time in London. My husband was working there, which gave me a terrific opportunity to experience the city, the culture, and the food. While England isn’t exactly known for its culinary delights, I did have a few terrific meals on that trip. I remember one night in particular when we stumbled into a Chinese restaurant somewhere near Leicester Square. I wish I could remember the name of the place. But I do remember what we ate, especially one dish. It was a sweet and sour eggplant with red bell peppers. I enjoyed the dish so much that I wrote it down in my little travel notebook, with my best guess as to what the ingredients were. I loved the flavor combination—sweet, sour, salty, and just a little bit spicy. Amazing.
When I came home, I spent a few days trying to replicate the flavor. On the third try, my husband smiled. I’d cracked the code. Don’t you love it when that happens?
The best part about this dish is that it’s healthy and really simple to make. When poured over rice it’s a complete entrée, or you can make it a side dish for a larger meal. I made it for my family yesterday as a light dinner. As I was cooking, I realized I hadn’t shared the recipe with you all yet. How rude! I can’t keep all of this awesome flavor to myself, it’s just too easy and yummy not to share. So here you go! 🙂
This recipe is pareve and vegan. You can make it gluten free by using a certified GF soy sauce. Make sure it’s certified; most soy sauce does contain gluten, but there are GF brands out there. Eden Organic Tamari Soy Sauce is gluten free, and it’s certified kosher when it has a Circle K on the label. Also, if you like spice, be sure to add some cayenne pepper to the mix. It’s really spicy (we like spicy), so I made it optional– add with care!
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Sweet and Sour Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 pound Chinese or Japanese eggplants, cubed
- 1 red bell pepper
- 3 tablespoons soy sauce (for gluten free use a certified GF tamari sauce)
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar (for gluten free use a certified GF vinegar)
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne (optional, adds spiciness)
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 3 tablespoons peanut oil (or another oil with a high smoke point)
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
- Salt and pepper to taste
- 2 cups cooked long grain rice, white or brown (optional)
Instructions
- Place the cubed eggplant in a single layer on a cutting board or a bed of paper towels. Sprinkle the eggplant with salt and let stand.
- After about 30 minutes, water droplets will form on the surface of the eggplant.
- Rinse salt from the eggplant thoroughly and pat dry.
- Seed the bell pepper, then cut it into long thin slices. Cut the slices in half.
- In a small mixing bowl, whisk together soy sauce, rice wine vinegar, brown sugar, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Reserve.
- In a small bowl, mix together cornstarch with 1 tbsp water till dissolved.
- Pour cornstarch liquid into reserved sauce, whisk till well combined.
- Heat oil in a skillet or wok over medium high till hot (not smoking). Add eggplant cubes and sauté till the edges begin to brown, 4-5 minutes.
- Add the red pepper slices and continue to sauté for 3-4 more minutes till the pepper slices are tender-crisp.
- Reduce heat to medium. Pour the reserved sauce over the top of the eggplant and peppers. Stir the sauce with the vegetables till they are evenly coated. Continue to stir till the sauce thickens, about 2 minutes.
- Pour over rice, if serving as an entrée. Sprinkle sesame seeds over the top of the eggplant and peppers. Serve.
Nikki @ The Tolerant Vegan says
I can’t believe it took me this long to find this recipe on your site! I am in LOVE!
RJReiser1 says
Stating the obvious, this is a superb relish with brisket.
Tali Simon @ More Quiche, Please says
This recipe caught my eye, and after having it bookmarked for a couple of weeks, I finally tried it tonight with some leftover eggplants from Pesach. Delicious! The sauce was perfect in flavor and amount, and I love Cynthia’s idea to add tofu and scallions. Will definitely try this again with those add-ins.
Tori Avey says
Tali I’m so pleased you liked the eggplant dish. Thank you for your feedback!
Stacey says
Excellent recipe! I added extra firm tofu cut into cubes and served the dish over quinoa as a meal – delish! Thanks!
Heather says
I am so excited to try this recipe out- I bought an eggplant this weekend with this recipe in mind!
Ashley @ Hop Skip Jump says
I make this recipe with a few changes almost everyday for lunch It’s so quick and delicious! Thanks for recreating this dish!
maureen jordan says
I am eager to try this recipe! We love eggplant. I tried to forward it to another computer in our house, so I could print it, but I have no idea what kind of server we have, and when I pressed send, nothing happened. Your site is wonderful; I wish I had the computer skills to utilize it better.
Tori Avey says
Hi Maureen, did you try clicking on the red “Print Recipe” button at the beginning of the recipe, on the light green recipe card above? It should create a print version for you…
Yoni Freedhoff says
Hi Tori,
Thanks for the recipe and your blog.
We cooked this the other night. Made a few changes (minor)….used low sodium soy sauce and halved the amount, served over whole grain brown rice (though quinoa would also be a great option), and included in the recipe cubed tofu (to add protein – with protein helping with satiety).
Was great and a welcome vegan addition to a very non vegan home.
Best,
Yoni
Tori Avey says
Hi Yoni, thank you for reporting back! Good call on the low sodium soy sauce. So happy you enjoyed it!
Coco Galvez says
Oh wow! what a great way to enjoy eggplant, I def going to try this, another vegeterian and vegan choice, thank you again Tori. 😀
Susan Benesch says
We love eggplant and eat it frequently. Am looking forward to making this dish this week because it looks delicious. Thank you. :-))))
kristy says
Now this looks a meal I would really enjoy. Eggplant is easily one of my favorites, but I’ve never tried it in a sweet and sour dish before. I know what I’ll be making in the next week or two!
Marla says
Mmmm. Where was this recipe this fall when I was overwhelmed by eggplants? 🙂 I’ll save it for next year…
Sharonshiatsu says
I have made a similar dish for years but omit peppers since I’m allergic to all bells. I occasionally add mushrooms, kale or cabbage too. Thanks for posting, I love everything eggplant!
Amy @ What Jew Wanna Eat says
This looks awesome! I love eggplant and always try new ways of making it. Random question. What’s the name of your social sharing plugin. I like the look of it!
Joy says
Ohhhhh I love this recipe.
cynthia kantor says
Hi, Tori, i just saw your posting on this sweet n sour eggplant dish. i love eggplants! i have done this dish many times over, it’s incredible! Donald was never a big fan of eggplants, but when i made this, he devoured it. there were also times when i made it with triangles of fried tofu in it and strips of scallions. great dish over rice!!! thanks for posting.
Tori Avey says
You’re welcome Cynthia! I agree it is very tasty… even those who “think” they don’t like eggplants might be convinced by this one. 😉
Sarah Lasry says
Tori – this recipe is on my to do for this weekend! Thanks for the recipe 🙂
Faythe- great idea!
Faythe says
Sarah – Sounds good! I’ll bet that you could certainly use Tori’s recipe in a tossed salad. I would prepare the dish as directed. Chill it – this way the salad won’t wilt – then toss the sweet and sour eggplant into your prepared salad.
Sarah Lasry says
I love a dish that is healthy and great tasting – especially anything made with eggplants – terrific recipe! how does this taste cold? Im thinking of making it for shabbos and serving it tossed in salad? – would it work?
Tori Avey says
Sarah that’s a terrific question. I’ve never actually eaten this dish cold, we’ve never once had leftovers because we like it so much! But I think it might be great in a salad– maybe with shredded cabbage? If you have a chance to try it, please let me know how it goes!
Faythe says
Sweet and sour dishes are served frequently in our home. I’ve never cooked with eggplant before. Your dish looks amazing. I’m glad you gave recommendations on making the dish gluten-free. Gluten finds it’s way into so many sauces, spices and other everyday condiments. We use tamari in our home for gluten-free sauces and it’s fabulous. Thank you for sharing.
Tori Avey says
I’m so happy you like the recipe Faythe! It’s true, gluten hides in all kinds of places you’d never imagine… 🙂