Stir-fried Eggplant with Thai Basil, Chilli Bean and Garlic
This is one of those incredibly easy Thai dishes to make. It’s one of those dishes I make when I basically can’t be bothered. The original version uses yellow bean sauce but since I’m so in love with the Chinese chilli bean sauce, I used that here. It’s also easy to omit the oyster sauce and turn it into a vegetarian dish. Serve with rice. I have never tried substituting this recipe with other types of basil but I can’t imagine they will work.
- 1 eggplant, cut into 3cm cubes
- 3 tbsp of vegetable oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, chopped
- 1 red chilli, sliced
- 1 green chilli, sliced
- 4 stems of Thai basil, leaves picked
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1 tbsp of chilli bean sauce
- 1 tsp of tomato ketchup*
Heat up the oil until hot, add the eggplant pieces and stir-fried quickly. Turn the heat down slightly and keep frying until the eggplant is browned, soft and silky. Add a little of water if it becomes too dry. This takes about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and chilli and stir for a minute or so. Add the sauces and a bit of water if necessary. Add the basil leaves and turn off the heat.
* I use tomato sauce instead of sugar to round off the flavours in stronger-flavoured dishes. The tomato won’t come through, neither will the sweetness but you’ll taste the difference.
