Eggplant in Shallot Sauce

Eggplant in Shallot Sauce is a sure winner when you need a vegetable side dish that is delicious as it is easy! All you have to do is steam some Chinese eggplant for 5 minutes, make the shallot sauce, and mix it all together!

This is a dish that makes me think for a brief second that I could be a vegetarian. 🙂 My mom made this for us all the time growing up, and it was so delicious. Although I remember her baking the eggplant, I chose to steam it for a quick meal.

Below you’ll see the difference between Chinese eggplant and American eggplant. The longer and skinnier one is the Chinese eggplant I use in this recipe. It has a thinner skin and fewer seeds than its American counterpart. You use American eggplant, but you might want to cut out some of the seeds and peel off some of the skin.

To steam the eggplant, I use a deep saute pan and this steamer with an extendable handle. In Vietnamese cuisine, we use shallots more often than onions because it has a more delicate and sweeter profile. You can see a photo of it below with the size of shallots I use. If you’re unable to find large shallots like this, you can just use smaller ones. Once you try eggplants in shallot sauce, you might fall in love with vegetables!

More easy recipes:

Air-fried Vietnamese wings– you’ll never believe they were air-fried!
Soy Garlic Chicken – A delicious and easy weeknight meal!

Eggplant in Shallot Sauce

Author: Phuong Le-Tran Cooking Method:Steaming Cuisine:Asian, Vietnamese Courses:Sides Recipe Keys:Vegetarian

Difficulty:BeginnerPrep time: 15 minutesCook time: 10 minutesServings:4 servings

Description

Eggplant in Shallot Sauce is a sure winner when you need a vegetable side dish that is delicious as it is easy! All you have to do is steam some Chinese eggplant for 5 minutes, make the shallot sauce, and mix it all together!

Ingredients

• 2 Chinese eggplant, quartered into 2″ pieces (sub American eggplant)
• 1 cup water (for steaming)

Sauce

• 4 large shallots, sliced
• 3 tablespoon neutral oil (canola, avocado oil, grape seed)
• 3 tablespoon soy sauce
• 2.5 tablespoon white sugar
• 2 tablespoon Aji mirin
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• 1 teaspoon honey (omit for vegan recipe)
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions

1. Slice eggplant and shallots. Mix together all the ingredients for the sauce except the shallots and oil in a small bowl.
2. Add one cup of water to deep saute pan, turn the heat on high and bring to a boil, and add steamer rack with eggplant. Close the lid, and steam for about 5 minutes. Remove the steamer from the pan and turn off the heat.
3. While the eggplant is steaming, place another pan over medium heat. After 2 minutes, add oil, swirl it to cover the pan, and then add sliced shallots. Cook and stir for about 4 minutes until slightly golden on the edges. Give the sauce a little mix and then pour it into the pan. Cook for about 1 minute and then add the eggplant. Stir and cook for about 1 minute or until the eggplant is tender to your liking.
4. Serve with rice.

Keywords:eggplant, easy side dish, vegetarian side dish, eggplant in shallot sauce, asian eggplant