Guess what I have? Another flavorful food memory! A while back I pondered, in my Savory Puff Pastry video, why aren't we making more eggplant in life? Not exactly an existential crisis, but a food question worth exploring. I realized that I loved eggplant, but I didn't make it too often. Years ago, I used to order chicken & eggplant stir fry at my favorite Chinese restaurant. All. the. time. I never saw it on any other Chinese take-out menu. And I've never found it since. Eggplant on its own, yes. With chicken, no.
The Key to Asian-Style Chicken & Eggplant Stir Fry: Velveting the Chicken
Have you ever wondered why the boneless breast of chicken at Asian restaurants is so tender, but you can never seem to get yours that tender? You bite into it and it practically melts in your mouth, right? Turns out there is a technique called velveting the chicken that makes white meat chicken oh, so tender. The simplest way to do this is by adding baking soda to your sliced chicken pieces. I was skeptical of this method, but I'm here to say, WOW! The chicken was the most tender I'd ever made.
Here's How to Velvet Chicken:
- Cut your chicken breast into thin pieces.
- Add baking soda to the chicken.
- Mix together to coat all the chicken.
- Let it sit for 20 minutes or so.
- Rinse the chicken in a strainer.
- Blot the chicken dry.
Easy Chicken & Eggplant Stir Fry with Built-in Leftovers for Lunch
I love a great stir fry dinner as much as the next person. The simplicity of it and the flavor combinations are endless! But recreating my favorite Asian-style chicken & eggplant stir fry from years ago was a lot of fun. I wanted that delicious umami sauce and tender, moist chicken with perfectly cooked eggplant. I think I hit the jackpot with this combination. It really is everything I wanted it to be.
Of course, you can cook this for a small group or just for two and use all those amazing leftovers for lunches. Whether you are working from home or heading into the office, this makes an excellent re-heatable lunch option.
I hope you give this recipe a try and that you enjoy it as much as I do. Remember, there's always time to get to know your kitchen better. Cooking doesn't have to be difficult. I'll be right there with you - just watch my instructional video and we can make it together.
Craving More International Delights? I Totally Understand:
- Mie Goreng: Indonesian Fried Noodles w/Rotisserie Chicken
- Pork Butt Stir Fry w/Carrots & Bok Choy
- General Tso's Chicken w/Trader Joe's Hack
- Cashew Chicken Stir Fry
- Dan Dan Noodles (dandanmian)
- Fried Rice w/Chinese Sausage
- Korean Bulgogi Sandwich w/Spicy Cucumbers & Cheddar
- Delicious Crispy Thai Pork Toast
Chicken & Eggplant Stir Fry
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 portions 1x
Description
Ready for the most delicious and tender chicken & eggplant stir fry of your life? Well, step right up! This recipe rocks!
Ingredients
Ingredients
- 3 large boneless breasts of chicken
- 2 eggplants (see note#1)
- 4 large cloves of garlic, finely diced
- 1 onion, cut in strips
- ⅓ cup of chopped scallion
- 4 teaspoons baking soda
- ½ cup olive oil (for cooking eggplant)
- 2-3 tablespoons canola oil (for cooking chicken)
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Basmati rice
- 2 cups basmati rice
- 1 tablespoon butter
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the sauce
- ½ cup oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
- 1 teaspoon soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon Chinese wine (Shaoxing wine) OR rice vinegar
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
Instructions
- Don’t forget to watch my video with all the step-by-step instructions.
- Prior to starting the recipe, I usually stick my boneless breast of chicken in the freezer for a couple of hours. It won’t freeze, but it will get firm enough that it’s easier to slice into thin pieces.
- Once the chicken is firm, take a moment to trim any excess fat from the chicken. You could trim the fat before putting in the freezer too. It's up to you.
- Cut the chicken breasts in half lengthwise then slice into thin strips – about ¼” thick. Put in a large bowl. Video shows this well. Note: yes, you only see two chicken breasts in the video, but there was a third that I cut also. I just couldn't fit it on the cutting board.
- Velvet the chicken for the ultimate tenderness. Add the baking soda to the chicken and mix thoroughly so all the pieces are coated. Let that sit for 20 minutes while you do the other prep work.
- If you are making basmati rice with this dish, you should start cooking that now. Follow the package instructions. I do recommend washing the rice thoroughly before cooking.
- Finely dice the garlic.
- Slice the onion into strips.
- Chop the scallions.
- Make the sauce. Mix together the oyster sauce, sesame oil, soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine (Shaoxing wine) OR rice vinegar, hoisin sauce and sugar. Give it a whisk and add a little water to thin out the sauce. Add 1 tablespoon and mix. If it’s still too thick, add another tablespoon of water. Set sauce aside for now. If you want it spicy add some chili sauce like sambal to give it a kick.
- Chop the eggplant. Whichever eggplant you use will determine how you slice it. Just make sure your pieces are at least ½” thick. Remember, eggplant shrinks a bit and if it’s too thin it will fall apart in the stir fry. (see video).
- After 20 minutes mixed with the baking soda, place the chicken pieces in a colander and run under water to wash off the baking soda. Transfer chicken pieces to a plate or sheet pan and blot the water off with a paper towel. Try to get the chicken as dry as possible.
- Season the chicken on one side with salt and pepper. For three chicken breasts, I would say it’s about ½ teaspoon salt and ¼ teaspoon of pepper.
- You’ll need two pans for the stir fry. One pan should be the chopped eggplant and olive oil. Put heat on low-to-medium, add half the olive oil and heat for a couple of minutes. Add the eggplant and stir quickly because the eggplant absorbs oil very quickly. Add the rest of the olive oil and mix again. Season with salt to taste - maybe ¼ teaspoon. Sauté for 2-3 minutes then cover the eggplant and let it steam a bit, maybe 3-5 minutes until it’s tender and browned slightly. Make sure to give it a stir a couple of times while the chicken is cooking. You want the eggplant to be tender - that's the main goal.
- The other pan is to cook the chicken. Add the canola oil and heat on high heat. Add the chicken. You’ll need to cook in two batches so you don’t crowd the pan too much. Spread the pieces out so they are not overlapping. Cook for 2 minutes or so, then turn and cook the other side for 2 minutes. Remove that chicken and cook the next batch until all chicken is cooked.
- As the second batch of chicken is finishing, add the onions to the pan. Then add the first batch of chicken back to the pan. Mix together.
- Add the garlic to the middle of the pan and let it get fragrant for a minute. Then mix to incorporate in the stir fry.
- Add the sauce to the pan and mix to coat the chicken.
- Add the eggplant and scallions and give it one final mix. You can save some scallions for garnish too if you like. Serve over basmati rice.
Equipment
Ceramic Dinner Plates (Set of 6)
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Calphalon Saute Pan with Lid (5QT)
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T-fal Non-Stick Pans (set of 3)
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- Eggplant types and sizes. When I shopped for this recipe, there was strangely no eggplant at the store except graffiti eggplant. I never used that before but I read online that it’s “less bitter” than regular eggplant. In my opinion, I saw no difference and also, I don’t think any eggplant is bitter to begin with. I’ve never understood that view. I had planned to use Japanese eggplant for this, but ANY of these three types are fine. It’s up to you. For graffiti eggplant two small-to-medium in size is fine – like the ones I use in the video. For the regular dark purple eggplant one large eggplant might be enough. For the longer, skinny Japanese eggplant maybe three eggplants.
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