Soy-Glazed Pan-Fried Eggplant with Garlic and Ginger

This pan-fried soy-glazed eggplant is inspired by Chinese and Japanese flavors. Serve hot or at room temperature, over rice or as a side dish.

One of the vegetables I get the most questions about is eggplant (a.k.a. aubergine to my friends across the pond). And I totally get the confusion. Unlike, say, potatoes, cooking with eggplant is not very intuitive. But luckily, it’s also not rocket science. In my experience, the easiest way to cook eggplant is in a pan on the stove.

This flavor-packed pan-fried eggplant is inspired by dishes I’ve had in Chinese and Japanese restaurants. (Unlike many other eggplant recipes, this one has no breading.) It has a creamy texture, caramelized flavor, and gets coated in a savory-salty soy sauce glaze with garlic, ginger, and red onion; crushed peanuts and cilantro crown the top. It’s so good and rich, you may be temped to eat the whole skillet by yourself. (Been there, done that.)

What’s In This Pan-Fried Eggplant

This dish consists of eggplant that gets deeply browned in a skillet, then removed. In that same pan, you then quickly sauté red onions, garlic, ginger, and chili flakes, and turn them into a glaze by adding soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Finally, you return the eggplant to the pan and toss it in the glaze. The dish gets garnished with crushed peanuts and cilantro.

How to Make Pan-Fried Eggplant with Soy Glaze

Find complete instructions with ingredient amounts in the recipe card below.

Step 1: Salt the Eggplant

Cut the eggplant into chunks and place in a colander, sprinkling each layer generously with salt. Set aside for 15 to 30 minutes (this helps tame the eggplant’s bitterness – more details below). When the eggplant looks sweaty, transfer it to a kitchen towel and pat dry.

Step 2: Pan Fry the Eggplant

Working in two batches, cook the eggplant in a single layer in a pan over medium heat until deeply golden. To prevent it from turning out greasy – and to speed up the softening process – cover the skillet with a lid while searing.

Resist the urge to move/flip the eggplant more than necessary, as it is prolonged contact with the hot pan that will give you that delicious caramelization. Remove all the eggplant from the pan and set aside.

Step 3: Glaze the Eggplant

Cook the onion, garlic, ginger, and chili flakes in that same skillet for just a few minutes, then add the soy sauce, rice vinegar, and sesame oil. Finally, add all the eggplant back in, toss to coat it in the glaze, and turn the heat off. Sprinkle with crushed peanuts and cilantro before serving.

Why You Should Salt Eggplant

Eggplant naturally contains a lot of moisture and some bitterness. Salting it and setting it aside for 15 to 30 minutes before cooking helps combat both of these issues. The salt makes the eggplant “sweat out” (literally) the excess moisture and bitter flavor. However, if you use Japanese eggplants (the long and skinny ones), you can skip the salting step.

To Peel or Not To Peel

One of the pain points of cooking eggplant is deciding whether or not to peel it. The short answer: leave the skin on. The longer answer: it depends. If your eggplants are small, their skin is probably tender. But if they’re on the larger side, while the skin remains edible, it may have a tougher texture.

It also depends on the recipe. If you plan to eat it in chunks or slices, leave the skin on. But for other uses (like this eggplant “caviar”), eggplants can be roasted whole, then peeled, and pureed.

The most important reason to leave the skin on is to preserve nutrients. Like with many fruits and vegetables, most of eggplant’s nutritional value is in its skin. Aside from being high in fiber (like all plants), eggplants have antimutagenic [anti-cancer], antimicrobial, and antiviral properties.

How to Serve Soy-Glazed Eggplant

What I love about this dish is that you can serve it hot, at room temperature, or cold. It’s absolutely delicious in every way. Have it over fluffy rice, or alongside this peanut udon salad, for a complete meal.