Easy and delicious stir-fried tofu and Chinese eggplant, tossed in a super flavorful garlicky sauce. The tofu takes on a crispy outer texture thanks to the cornstarch coating and pan frying. This pairs nicely with the tender Chinese eggplant, giving the dish some variety with each bite.
Key Tips - Garlic Eggplant & Crispy Tofu
Chinese eggplant are distinct from typical eggplant found in the US.
- Chinese eggplant are long and skinny compared to standard US eggplant. When diced, this results in more pieces that have the eggplant skin in every bite. This helps the eggplant hold up a little better as it's stir-fried, and I prefer it for this kind of dish.
- Some American grocery stores will carry Chinese eggplant, but it's easiest to find at Asian grocery stores in the US.
- If desired, you can substitute regular eggplant. One large eggplant should be about equal to two medium Chinese eggplant.
Press your tofu to remove excess water.
- Tofu comes soaking in water, but we want to remove as much as possible before pan-frying. Pat the tofu dry with paper towels and gently squish it to remove excess water.
- For best results, press the tofu in a tofu press (like this one) for about 30 minutes. Or wrap the tofu block in paper towels and place on a rimmed plate, then rest a heavy object (like a cast iron pan) on top for ~30 minutes.
Use a small mesh strainer to dust the corn starch.
- I use a small mesh strainer to help evenly dust the eggplant and tofu pieces with corn starch. This works so much better than trying to evenly sprinkle it on top.
Check out my guide on freezing fresh garlic to save some time in the kitchen.
- If you're looking for the convenience of pre-minced garlic, but the flavor of fresh garlic, freezing your own minced garlic is a great option! You'll be surprised to find that the flavor of frozen garlic is nearly as good as fresh, without the sticky prep and clean-up. Read more about it here: How to Freeze Garlic.
Dietary Restrictions - Garlic Eggplant & Crispy Tofu
This dish is naturally Dairy-Free.
This dish is nearly Gluten-free
- Just make sure you're using gluten-free soy sauce, some soy sauce contains wheat. Tamari soy sauce is always gluten-free.
- Some oyster sauce contains gluten, make sure you're using gluten-free oyster sauce.
Make it Vegan/Vegetarian
- The only non-vegan ingredient in this dish is the oyster sauce, which can easily be substituted for vegetarian oyster sauce to make the dish fully vegan.
A Note On Serving Sizes
Serving sizes are a very personal thing, making it very difficult for me to select a serving size that suits everyone. While this is listed as 4 servings, many people would prefer to have more than one serving. I typically serve this dish as 2-3 large dinner servings or 4 small lunch servings. Pictured here are two servings per bowl.
Garlic Eggplant & Crispy Tofu
Stir-fried Chinese eggplant and tofu, tossed in a simple garlicky sauce and topped with green onion.
Ingredients
- 1 lb Chinese eggplants (about 2 medium Chinese eggplant), or sub normal eggplant
- 1 block extra firm tofu
- 3 green onions greens and whites separated and sliced thin
- 1 tablespoon freshly minced garlic
- ~¼ cup cornstarch
- veggie oil
- toasted sesame seeds for topping
For Sauce:
- 2 tablespoon soy sauce
- 2 tablespoon oyster sauce or sub vegan oyster sauce
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce or sub 1 tablespoon regular soy sauce + 1 teaspoon brown sugar
- ½ tablespoon black vinegar or sub rice vinegar
- ½ tablespoon ginger paste or fresh grated ginger
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- ½ teaspoon MSG optional
Instructions
- Press the tofu in a tofu press, or wrap in paper towels and place under a heavy object for 30 minutes to remove excess moisture. Cut the tofu into ~¾” cubes. Dust the tofu with about 2 tablespoon of cornstarch and toss to fully coat. (For an extra crispy coating, use even more cornstarch on the tofu, about ¼ cup)
- Remove the tops from the Chinese eggplants then quarter them longwise (creating 4 long strips per eggplant). Cut the strips into ½ inch pieces to create many small chunks. Dust the eggplant with about 2 tablespoon of cornstarch and toss to fully coat.
- Combine all of the sauce ingredients and set aside.
- Heat a swirl of veggie oil over medium-high heat in a wok or large skillet. Add the eggplant chunks and cook, stirring occasionally, until the eggplant is crispy in some places and soft all the way through, about 5-7 minutes. Try to position the eggplant so the cut sides are in contact with the pan. The eggplant will likely absorb the oil, but there's no need to keep adding more. Once cooked, remove to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.
- To the skillet, add another generous swirl of veggie oil. Once warm, add the cubed tofu pieces. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is golden and crispy on most sides, about 10 minutes. Once cooked, remove to a plate.
- Add a little more oil to the skillet, once warm add the garlic and the whites of the green onion. Cook until fragrant, about 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add the sauce and mix everything together, then add the tofu and eggplant back to the skillet. Remove from heat and mix everything together. Top with the green onion greens and sesame seeds, serve immediately with white rice.
Nutrition
Serving: 0.25 batchCalories: 230kcal
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Hiro says
Hey I saw this post this morning and just made a version of it! So good, thank you! My SO loved it too. Added sliced mushrooms, green beans, and a julienned carrot as well as more ginger and garlic (and more vinegar in the sauce.) I used a non-Chinese eggplant and it came out really nice; I have never tried adding it to a stir fry before. I wonder if it would be worth it to add maybe a half tablespoon more cornstarch next time as i don’t think I achieved a full coating.
amanda says
It turned out amazing! I’m fairly new at cooking. Tofu and eggplant scare me. I always ruin one or the other, but this came out perfect.
Jacqueline Schell says
Thanks so much for commenting, so glad to hear this went well for you!
Rhiannon says
Should of made a double batch this went down a treat
Mark says
I made this about 20 minutes again. First of all, it’s SLAMMIN’!!! This was a huge hit. I followed the recipe to a T. My wife loved it. My kids loved it (3 and 7). I loved it. This is my first time using tofu. This is now in the rotation. Thank you!!
Mak says
We made this meal last night and it was delicious! We went with using 1 normal eggplant, and used ginger powder rather than ginger paste and were really happy with the results. Super doable on a weeknight and I'm excited to try this again!
Anonymous says
I tried this recipe and loved it! I made a few substitutions:
1. I used regular eggplant
2. I used pre-seasoned tofu
3. I added golden flaxseed to the sauce to thicken it ( and add fiber to my diet-i do that wherever I can so that my SO and I get more fiber)
For those in the US, it's probably easier to find regular eggplant, unless it's sold per number of eggplant vs by the pound; I pick smaller ones if it's by the pound. That way the skin to eggplant is more like Chinese eggplant!
I added sliced onions to the recipe as I love onions, and it added extra flavor, if you have the time just throw in thin sliced onions and let them cook up for a bit (5-10 minutes). If not, the recipe is great as is.
Moe says
Really salty and the flavor is unbalanced. The stir fry instructions are also misleading as the both the eggplant and tofu stuck to the pan despite using a good amount of oil. 1.5 stars.
It really was not good and took too much time for how it ended up. Terrible.
Jacqueline Schell says
Hi Moe, I'm sorry to hear that this recipe didn't turn out for you. Since myself and most others have not had an issue with this recipe sticking, I believe the problem may be with your pan. If you're using a traditional wok or cast iron pan the seasoning may need to be redone. The coating on modern non-stick cookware breaks down overtime, and most need to be replaced after a few years for best results.
Sara says
Thank you so much for this!! There's a Chinese restaurant near me that has a tofu and eggplant dish that I absolutely love, its honestly the only way I really enjoy eggplant so I wanted to figure out how to make it. Did some googling and found this recipe and its SO close to the restaurant version!! I didn't realize these long skinny eggplants existed but I was able to find them at the Chinese grocery store. Thank you!!! So excited to be able to eat this more often!
Bri says
I've made this so many times! 10/10!
Susan says
Looking forward to making this excellent recipe! To start, should I use a stainless wok or a non-stick large pan/skillet? Thank you!
Jacqueline Schell says
Hello Susan! You can make this recipe in either a wok or a large non-stick pan. The eggplant can get stuck to the pan if the pan isn't non-stick or well-seasoned. I'd recommend using whatever your most non-stick pan is, so if your wok is really well seasoned and is better than your non-stick pans, go with that. If your wok is new and not well seasoned yet, it might be better to use a non-stick pan. I hope this helps!
K says
awesome
BetteK says
Very good. I added 1/2 tsp of sambal to the sauce for some spice and some chopped Thai basil at the end when adding the eggplant and tofu back to the pan. Will make again but didn’t think there was enough sauce so will increase that by 50%.
Jacqueline Schell says
Glad you enjoyed it, thanks for commenting! The sambal sounds great!
Ern says