Total Time: 22 minutes Serves: 3
Recipe by: Cinnamon Snail
Ingredients:
- 3 tablespoons canola or vegetable oil
- 2 large eggplants or 7 skinny long eggplants cut in long wedges
- ½ cup shallots or red onion, minced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 ½ cup Thai basil chopped
- 1 red bell pepper sliced
- ½ green bell pepper sliced
- 5 chiles sliced (omit if you’re not that into spice, or sub for a jalapeno!)
Sauce:
- 2 tablespoons tamari or soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
- 4 teaspoons sambal oelek or sriracha
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar, coconut sugar, or brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
Garnish:
- Fresh Thai basil leaves
- Thinly sliced bird’s eye chilies to taste
- Thinly sliced garlic chives or green onion
Directions:
- Heat oil in a large frying pan or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add sliced eggplants and cook for 7-8 minutes until tender and slightly browned. Set aside.
- In the same pan, Add a little extra oil if the pan is completely dry and sauté minced shallots or red onion for 4 minutes until fragrant and softened.
- Add garlic, Thai basil, sliced red bell pepper, sliced green bell pepper, and sliced Bird’s eye chilies. Stir-fry for a few minutes until the vegetables are cooked but still vibrant.
- For the sauce, add tamari or soy, sesame oil, rice vinegar, sambal oelek or sriracha, sugar of your choice, fish sauce, water, and cornstarch in a bowl. Mix together using the tines of a fork or a small whisk to completely dissolve the cornstarch.
- Add the eggplant back into the cooking pan with peppers and onions, and pour the sauce over the sautéing vegetables. Stir well to coat evenly and let it simmer for a couple of minutes until the sauce thickens.
- Transfer to a serving place and garnish with Thai basil leaves, thinly sliced chilies, and thinly sliced garlic chives or green onion.