Chicken with Eggplant in Garlic Sauce

I saw this recipe for Spicy Eggplant on Kate's blog, but I wanted it to be more like a dish we enjoy whenever we get Chinese food with my mom (with chicken) or with my aunt (vegetarian), so I combined elements from the Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry I made recently.


Eggplant is a vegetable I absolutely love in things like eggplant parmesan, eggplant panini or eggplant rollatini, but am not really a fan of in Asian dishes. I'm assuming the Chinese dishes we've had use Japanese eggplant, which is not what I used here. As a result, we weren't enamored by this dish. The chicken aspect was good but the eggplant was just not enjoyable for us. I modified the recipe below to call for Japanese eggplants but I think they'd work better.


It was still a good stir-fry but I think we'll stick with other vegetables.

Chicken with Eggplant in Garlic Sauce
aToHC Original, with help from Kate's Recipe Box and Alosha's Kitchen

1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts or thighs, cut into bite-sized pieces
6 cloves garlic, grated or minced divided
1 1/2-inch piece peeled fresh ginger, grated or minced, divided
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 tablespoon + 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 tablespoon + 1/4 teaspoon Kosher salt
2 tablespoons xiaoxing wine (or dry sherry)
1 tablespoon Sriracha sauce (chile sauce)
1 tablespoons dark sesame oil
About 1/2 cup water
2 Japanese eggplants, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 medium onion, thinly sliced
6 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
Ground black pepper to taste
3 scallions, thinly sliced on an angle (for garnish)

In a plastic food storage bag, toss the chicken with half the garlic and ginger, soy sauce, sugar, 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch, 1/2 tablespoon Kosher salt, xiaoxing wine, Sriracha and sesame oil. Marinate for at least 15 minutes. Mix the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch with 1/2 cup water and set aside.

Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Add the chicken mixture. Stir-fry (stir, stir, stir at this point!) until the chicken is brown and cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove to a plate. Add 2 more tablespoons of oil, add the eggplant and stir the eggplant cubes until they begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove the eggplant with a slotted spoon, and set aside.

Heat 2 more tablespoons of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, and cook and stir the onions just until they begin to soften, about 30 seconds. Stir in the rest of the garlic and ginger.

Return the chicken and eggplant to the skillet, lower the heat, and allow the vegetables and sauce to simmer until the eggplant is tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes. Add the oyster sauce, stir, then add in the reserved cornstarch/water mixture and bring to a boil to thicken. Serve over rice, with the chopped scallions and extra chile sauce on the side.