Eggplant with Garlic Sauce (2)

Last year, I posted a recipe for eggplant with garlic sauce which was quite delicious but a couple weekends ago, I made it again using a few different seasonings and it also came out delicious so I'm sharing it. This version doesn't have oyster sauce; instead it has ginger and Thai roasted red chili paste and both ingredients give the dish a sweeter flavor.

Ingredients:
2 baby eggplants
1 scallion, whites and greens chopped separately
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon minced ginger
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon Thai roasted red chili paste
¼ cup water
½ tablespoon corn starch
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon bean paste (either Korean or Chinese)
oil for frying (around 2 tablespoons)

Start by mixing the sauce. Combine water, corn starch, soy sauce, sugar, and bean paste in a bowl and stir together.

Then prep the veggies. I cut the eggplant and placed it in a bowl of salted water to prevent them from oxidizing and turning an ugly brown. Finely chop up some ginger, mince some garlic, and cut the white stalks off of the scallions and chop separately from the greens.

To start cooking, heat up a skillet (or wok) with enough oil to coat the bottom of the pan. Add in the ginger, garlic, and whites of the scallions and cook for a bit until the garlic starts to soften. Add in the roasted red chili paste and stir together and let the ingredients sizzle and cook together for a bit. Drain the eggplant and add to the pan. Stir to coat in the garlic and ginger and chili sauce and cook until they're rather soft.

Once the eggplant is soft, add in the sauce mixture.

Stir together and allow to come to a boil, which will thicken up the sauce.

Garnish with the greens of the scallions and serve with jasmine rice.

Here's the recipe page: