I love taking advantage of all the fresh produce in summer and all the color and texture it brings to my plate! This week I played around with eggplant, which has a unique almost meaty texture. I gave it a quick soy glaze treatment that I’ve previously used for chicken thighs (see Sticky Ginger Soy Glazed Chicken) and it worked perfectly. This Soy Glazed Eggplant makes for a super fast and easy vegetarian weeknight dinner, which also meal preps well for the week. As with most stir fries, this recipe is quite versatile, so I’ll list some options for you below!
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Make it Spicy or Mild
This recipe for Soy Glazed Eggplant as written is below NOT spicy (without optional sriracha mayo topping), but you could easily make it a spicy stir fry, if you prefer. Simply add a tablespoon or two of sriracha or chili garlic sauce to the soy glaze mixture and you’re good to go. Or, add a few crushed red pepper flakes to the finished dish.
Make it Vegan
The Soy Glazed Eggplant by itself is vegan, but I topped mine with sriracha mayo. If you want to avoid the mayo to make the whole bowl vegan, I suggest adding a few slices of avocado to your bowl or using vegan mayo if you have it. The addition of a creamy topping does a wonderful job of balancing the sweet and salty flavors of the Soy Glazed Eggplant, and really takes the bowls to the next level.
Should I Use Fresh or Dried Ginger?
I almost always use fresh ginger in my recipes because it tastes completely different than dried ground ginger. If you keep a knob of ginger in your freezer you’ll always have fresh on hand and it’s super easy to grate on a cheese grater when frozen. If you must use dried ground ginger, I suggest using 1/2 to 1 tsp, adjusting it to your tastebuds.
How to Serve Soy Glazed Eggplant
I served mine on top of brown rice and topped with chopped peanuts, sliced green onions, and a drizzle of sriracha mayo. You could also serve this with noodles (add cooked noodles to the skillet and toss with the soy glazed eggplant), and add something green on the side, like broccoli or snow peas.
Soy Glazed Eggplant
Servings 4Ingredients
Soy Glazed Eggplant
- 1 eggplant (5-6 cups cubed) ($1.29)
- 2 Tbsp olive oil ($0.24)
- 1/4 cup soy sauce ($0.48)
- 1/4 cup brown sugar ($0.16)
- 2 cloves garlic, minced ($0.16)
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger ($0.30)
Optional for Serving
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts ($0.12)
- 2 green onions, sliced ($0.23)
- 4 cups cooked rice ($0.60)
- 2 Tbsp mayonnaise* ($0.17)
- 1 Tbsp sriracha* ($0.11)
Instructions
- Cut the eggplant into 3/4-inch cubes. The easiest way to do this is to first slice the eggplant into 3/4-inch slices, then lay each slice flat and slice into 3/4-inch squares.
- Add the olive oil to a large skillet at heat over medium. Once hot, swirl the oil to coat the surface of the skillet, then add the eggplant cubes. Cook the eggplant cubes, stirring occasionally, until they are softened (about ten minutes). If the eggplant begins to stick, add a couple tablespoons of water to the skillet to help loosen the eggplant.
- While the eggplant is cooking, prepare the soy ginger glaze. Stir together the soy sauce, brown sugar, minced garlic, and ginger in a bowl.
- Once the eggplant is soft, pour in the soy ginger glaze, making sure to scrape out all the sugar that may have settled to the bottom of the bowl. Continue to stir and cook the eggplant in the skillet, dissolving any browned bits off the bottom, for about 5 more minutes.
- Top the eggplant with chopped peanuts and sliced green onion before serving. Serve over warm rice with a drizzle of sriracha mayo, if desired.
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Notes
Nutrition
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How to Make Soy Glazed Eggplant – Step by Step Photos
Grab yourself one medium eggplant for this recipe. They were priced per item at the store today, so I didn’t get the scale weight from the register, but this recipe is pretty flexible. I had about 5-6 cups once it was cubed. The size of this eggplant was about 1.5x the length of my hand.
Cut the eggplant into 3/4-inch cubes. To do this, first slice the eggplant into 3/4-inch slices, then lay each slice flat and cut into squares.
Add 2 Tbsp olive oil (or your favorite cooking oil) to a large skillet and heat over medium. Once hot, give it a swirl to coat the skillet, then add the cubed eggplant. Cook the eggplant, stirring occasionally, until it has softened (about 10 minutes). If the eggplant begins to stick too much, add a couple tablespoons of water to the skillet to help loosen it up.
While the eggplant is cooking, make the soy ginger glaze. In a bowl combine 1/4 cup soy sauce, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 cloves of garlic (minced), and about 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger. Stir them together. The brown sugar probably won’t fully dissolve, but that’s okay.
Once the eggplant has softened, add the glaze, making sure to scrape all the sugar out of the bowl.
Continue to stir and cook the eggplant with the glaze over medium heat for about 5 minutes more. The glaze should be bubbling.
Top the Soy Glazed Eggplant with sliced green onion and about 1/4 cup chopped peanuts (optional).
I served my Soy Glazed Eggplant over brown rice and with sriracha mayo drizzled on top. To make the sriracha mayo, simply stir together 2 Tbsp mayonnaise with 1 Tbsp sriracha.
Yummy!! Would reduce the sugar a bit the next time, as it was very sweet. The whole family liked it, so that is a winning recipe for me!
This was easy, and delicious! Looks kind of plain while cooking, but after the sauce goes on, and the toppings are added at the end, it’s not plain at all!
Wow! Delicious. I had a sad eggplant, and it was transformed. Lots of char on the eggplant before the glaze makes a difference.
Is there a way to incorporate a bit of protein into this, maybe tofu? I’m not sure how to go about it.
I’m making this tonight for my vegetarian wife and I, and plan on reserving a small amount of sauce to cook some shaved steak in, in a small separate pan. If you’re vegetarian as well, I think adding some cubed firm tofu when you add the sauce should hold up well, or adding it with the eggplant if you want more crunch on your tofu–I haven’t tried this myself, but based on what I know about using firm tofu in the past, I can assume the results.
I add crushed peanuts and a side of steamed (frozen) edamame. Doesn’t change the flavors of the dish and adds protein in just a couple minutes on the cheap.
Great weeknight meal. Love ❤️ the flavor an it works for those of us that get home from work late.
Delicious!! Made to recipe instructions, let it come to a warm stage with a generous amount of green onions and dug in. It was all for me, S.O. is NOT an eggplant fan, so only used those as topping. The only thing needed, IMO, was a healthy squeeze of Siracha or teaspoon+ of garlic-chili paste, ya know, mixed in with the soy ginger glaze. But, that’s me….otherwise, a darn fine recipe for eggplant. My plan is to have the sauced Italian style eggplant sammich next! Thank you for posting, I’ll have it hot over rice next time. Regards, Bill
This recipe is one of the GOATs of this website. I usually make mine with yellow rice and roasted broccoli 🤌
This is really delicious; I will be making it often!
Just a slight typo: “Add the olive oil to a large skillet at head over medium.”
I think that should be “heat.”
Thank you! Fixing now. :)
Another typo – “The size of this explant was about 1.5x the length of my hand.” Will definitely give this a try next time I have an eggplant lying around.
My 14 yr old grandson wanted to try eggplant and I made him this. He loved it! Of course, he went home to his (unadventurous) mom and wanted her to make it. Referred her to your website! :-D
Made this for my vegetarian friend last night & she loved it!! Sooo easy & I already had everything on hand except the eggplant & green onions, & I usually have got green onions anyway
Delicious, and very easy. I added a diced red bell pepper since I had an extra floating about, and there was plenty of sauce for it. I might try adding some shiitake mushrooms and spinach next time.
We had eggplant that we had bought to use in a different dish but we weren’t feeling enthusiastic and wanted to mix things up. I came to your site because I figured you would have some good inspiration and you delivered! Super simple to make, and the eggplant is silky and really absorbs the sauce. We added in a little bit of chicken and some bell peppers and served over brown rice. A great weeknight meal that will definitely be going into the rotation! My spouse said “the sauce really makes the dish”
I forgot to include the main reason i left a comment! We keep ginger-garlic paste on hand in our kitchen to use in recipes like this that call for ginger and garlic. It’s a nice little time/effort saver for sauces and similar. We are fortunate to have a good halal market with lots of South Asian spices and ingredients near us, but you can also sometimes find it in mainstream grocery stores (or online, of course). It makes even a nice quick dish like this even quicker, and of course saves on some chopping/grating (and thus on dishes!)
Just made this! Doubled the sauce because I added some chicken and instant udon noodles. Also added a little sesame oil to the sauce. I will say I probably could have just done a time and a half for the sauce instead of double as it ended up being a a little too salty but that’s my fault. I’ve made so many budget bytes recipes and never left a review, so I figured I should start because they’re always so good!!
I always thought I hated eggplant…until I tried this! It packs a lot into a few very simple steps, and the texture is SO good! My family cleaned the first batch out entirely; I managed to save enough from the second batch to take to work, along with brown rice and green onion, as you suggest, but also topped with a fried egg.
Umm… I’ve cooked A LOT of recipes from BB, but this is the first one I’ve ever commented on… mostly because it was such a surprise as to HOW MUCH I liked it. Mostly I chose this recipe because we had an over abundance of eggplant in my CSA this week, but wow! I loved it, my eight year old loved it (full disclosure- my 3 year old twins did not like it), it was fast and very easy to prepare. Definitely will be on our table in the future along with many other recipes from this site. Thanks Beth!
This recipe is magnificent! The sauce is perfect and goes so well with Eggplant – one of my very favorite veggies (as long as it’s cooked til very tender). I served this on rice and added tempeh for some more protein. I also had some fresh basil on hand and that really added some amazingness to the sauce. I am 100% making this more times!
Is it good the next day??
I enjoyed the leftovers. :)
Yes! It’s just as good reheated as it is fresh, I didn’t notice any change in texture or flavor
Just delicious! I added more sauce 😁 because i want really saucy. I also had leftover water spinach and added it in. Delicious!
You are one of my recipe resource guides when I need ideas!
Ok, this is a VERY surprising recipe. Who could guess eggplants could reach this level of deliciousness? I couldn’t, to be honest. Just made it and I am bewildered. This is a go-to, thank you!!
My new GO TO for my Meatless Monday! Incredible!
Would this work with steak for a sort of stir-fry?
I’m not sure exactly what you mean, but you can use this same “sauce” for any type of stir fry. :)
I’ve made this before following the recipe exactly, and loved it. Tonight, though, I added a diced orange bell pepper cooked along with the eggplant, a dash of sesame oil in the glaze, and some imitation crab meat added in the same step as the glaze. On a bowl of rice, topped with green onion and sesame seeds, it makes an easy and tasty meal!
This recipe was delicious. It’s a quick recipe that reminds me of an eggplant dish my aunt in Japan makes. So happy! I’m excited to add this into the dinner routine.
Excellent recipe! I substituted honey for brown sugar and added chickpeas and it turned out well! Thanks, Beth!
I love the flexibility of this recipe. I added a cubed portobello mushroom cap (sauteed in separate pan from the eggplant) and subbed maple syrup for the brown sugar, and it was delicious. :)
This was incredibly easy to make and it turns out most deliciously! The only thing I altered was less garlic (because I didn’t have enough on hand) and a lot more ginger (because I love ginger).
This is the best eggplant recipe I have ever tried! I only ate eggplant in restaurants but decided it was time for me to learn how to cook it. The last 4 tries resulted in edible dishes that didn’t make it to the favorites list. This Soy Glazed Eggplant was a success. Everybody in the family gave it 5 stars. This recipe is going straight to the top of our Favorites because it was easy, fast and delicious!!!
This sounds so good and I’m dying to try it! Question: When I use eggplant for an Italian recipe, I have had to salt it first to get rid of any bitterness and then rinse the salt off after 30 mins. Is this not necessary for this recipe? Thanks!
I never salt my eggplant and never have a problem with bitterness. :) I read somewhere once where that was needed a long time ago with older varieties of eggplant that tended to be more bitter than today’s eggplant. I don’t know if that’s true, but I do know that I never salt them and never have a problem with bitterness (although I do tend to like food that is more bitter, like dark leafy greens and coffee).
I’m also dying to make this and had a similar question regarding salting the eggplant, but I’d read it helps it release water that would otherwise make it really spongey when you go to fry it (which I’ve been unfortunate enough to deal with when stir-frying—not when roasting though).
Any recommendations for getting silky rather than oily sponge texture?
I really haven’t had an issue with the texture being spongey in this recipe. Maybe it’s the salt in the sauce that helps draw out the last bit of moisture to make the eggplant soft instead of spongey and dry?
Great vegetarian recipe that will be going into my regular rotation! While the glazed eggplant is delicious on its own, I really think the toppings (green onions, peanuts, and sriracha mayo) really make this a meal. Don’t skip ’em. :)
Are you including the rice in your nutrition information ?
Thanks !
The nutrition data provided is calculated using all ingredients listed on the recipe card, including any ingredient listed as optional. Keep in mind that recipes that involve marinades, breading, salad dressings, oil for frying, or salt for cooking pasta and potatoes may be skewed because some of these ingredients will be discarded and not included in the final edible portion.
This was delicious. I was looking for something vegetarian for Lent and tried this on Friday. I served it with rice and a side of broccoli. At first I thought it was just pretty good; then I added the sriracha mayo and discovered it was truly delicious. I’ll be making this again for sure.
Hey Beth, I was randomly searching to see some pocket-friendly dishes and I actually found one. I love cooking and my girlfriend loves food cooked by me. Tomorrow she is coming home for dinner and its month ending and I am very tight with my budget. I am definitely going to prepare it for tomorrow’s dinner. Thanks for sharing.
I made this for a quick lunch and really liked it. I had cooked quinoa in freezer so threw that in microwave before topping with the eggplant. So flavorful. Slight tweeks for my taste…sriracha can be overpowering to me so for the sauce I did 1 T vegan mayo, 1 T vegan sour cream, and 1 T sriracha. Based on other reviews saying dish was too sweet, I cut the brown sugar by half which worked for me. Thank you, Beth…you never disappoint : )
Just made this recipe, lessened the recommended brown sugar amount a bit, and it was still SO delicious! I also substituted quinoa for the rice and it was yummy. Really great quick recipe to knock people’s socks off.
So good and simple to prepare! I added some cubed extra-firm tofu that I had sauteed in advance, stirring it in to warm through just before serving. I may try adding some shiitake mushrooms next time while sauteeing the eggplant, too. Thanks for another winner!
Oooh yum!
This recipe is fabulous! Yes, the glaze is sweet, but when paired with the peanuts, green onion and sriracha mayo the balance of flavour is amazing! Give this one a try for sure :)
Thank you!
Very, very sweet dish and I prefer savory – I was lured in by “Soy glazed…” I LOVE eggplant but won’t make this again. But
almost all of the recipes on this site are great! Too sweet…just not my preference….
Barbara, I prefer savory also, and frequently glaze my roasted eggplant in a mixture of white miso and garlic, mixed with hot water to make a paste. I use between half and a whole tbsp of miso, depending on how much eggplant I’m cooking. Add some more water and this may work in place of the sweeter sauce in this recipe.
it’s is much better with a tablespoon of brown sugar and add a little bit of cornstarch to thicken up the sauce.
This has become one of my go-to recipes. So versatile, you can add whatever other veggies you have on hand. Last night we had it with green beans and swiss chard (added the stems with the eggplant and beans and the chopped leaves a few minutes before serving), SO TASTY!!!
Very tasty! This is definitely going to become a regular part of my meal prep arsenal. I kept the peanuts and sriracha mayo in separate containers so I could reheat the rice and eggplant and then add the nuts and sauce. Thank you for another great recipe!
That’s a great idea!
Recipe is so easy and so delicious! I’ve had a new love for eggplant and this was a great recipe to use some up and to get my veggies in. Will definitely make again and can’t wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow.
I’ve made this twice now. Delicious! I added chili garlic sauce 2 tsp of oyster sauce for a little added asian flare.
Oh great idea Michele! Thanks for sharing.
Loved this using eggplant from my garden. Will definitely make again!
I love hearing when folks are using their garden bounty!
This recipe is absurdly good. The delicious butteryness of the eggplant is almost irresistible. I added some red pepper flakes to counteract a bit of the sweetness.
Thanks Jacob!
Worked well! I had a bunch of cilantro in the garden, so I added that along with the green onion on top – yum! I didn’t have any mayo so I made an experimental creamy sauce with sour cream, yogurt, lime juice and chipotle pepper and it came out pretty good – tasted weird by itself, but good on top of the eggplant.
I sub plain yogurt quite a bit for mayo. Glad it turned out for you!
I made this tonight for a quick dinner and it was amazing! I didn’t have the ingredients on hand to make the sriracha mayo but I did add two chopped Thai chili peppers to the glaze and that was awesome.
Oooh the pepper addition sounds delicious!
Just made it, and wished I trusted my instincts about the sugar measurement – it is TOOOOO SWEET!! Shame because it has a lot of good flavors that are buried under all that sugar. I tried adding a teaspoon of siracha to take it in another direction, but its still a bit too syrup-y for my liking :P
This was truly delicious! I can’t believe how tasty it was since I only used the ingredients listed under eggplant, and none of the serving suggestions. Amazing!
This was delicious! I added some chopped cooked bacon I had on hand when I added the sauce. Will definitely be making this quick and easy dish again and again.
I just made this for lunch today and it is so satisfying! The peanuts add a nice crunch and the sriracha mayo is the best amount of creamy heat on the sweet, sticky eggplant.
The Japanese eggplants in my garden are starting to kick off nicely -but I don’t have quite enough to do this with eggplant alone. Would adding a boneless chicken thigh if I cubed it (to make it cook quicker) work do you think?
Yep, you can definitely add some chicken. :)
This was seriously so good! I can’t believe how quickly it came together, perfect for a weeknight dinner. This one is definitely going on the dinner rotation.
Loved this! I threw in some chopped red onion to cook with the eggplant. The peanuts give it a nice crunch and the spicy creamy Sriracha mayo finishes it off perfectly. Thanks for a quick and delicious eggplant recipe!
Simple, quick, and delicious!
We didn’t have fresh ginger or garlic so I bet it’s even better that way.
My toddler also enjoyed it, thanks!
(My first recipe from this site but I’ve bookmarked more!)
This was super duper yum yum in my tum tum!!
I made this two days ago. It was excellent. It was great to find another recipe for eggplant. I reduced the brown sugar a bit because I added plum sauce to mine. It was great for breakfast the next day. I love the addition of peanuts for crunch. My kind of dish.
Made this tonight for dinner. So easy to make and delicious. Served it with steamed broccoli. My husband went back for seconds. So much for any for lunches this week!
Delicious! We used Japanese eggplant (cause that was what was in the garden) and it turned out really delicious. We just used the non-optional stuff as well.
I made this for dinner tonight on my flat top and it was delicious! I added a package of firm tofu which I cut up into cubes. I tossed in some lo mein noodles as well and doubled up the sauce. Terrific and everyone loved it. Sprinkled with fresh chives from my garden and some toasted sesame seeds.
Is the liquid produced by the eggplant a problem during cooking? I know with other eggplant recipes, sometimes you have to put the pieces in a colander and salt them to get the liquid out.
Nope. :) It just evaporates away when it’s in a hot skillet like this. If you were to be baking the eggplant with something it might make the dish soupy, so you’d probably want to get the water out first, but in a hot skillet it all just evaporates away.
Hi beth,
This is a famous dish in our area thanks for posting this post. Feeling happy for this and expecting more from you.
Made this tonight for dinner. I loved every forkful! Did however run out of soy sauce. I used teriyaki to substitute and reduced the amount of brown sugar. Still very delicious! Thanks!
I made this tonight for dinner and it earned 5 stars from my normally very picky other half! I added in chopped zucchini and a can of chickpeas for a little extra bulk. With the additions, I increased the glaze by 50% so everything would be covered. Served over rice and topped with cashews instead of peanuts!
Delicious and easy to make!
So quick to make and very delicious. I added the teriyaki tofu from Trader Joe’s and will have it for lunch this week.
Coincidently picked up an eggplant on Thursday and then checked in to find this recipe. One warning–my bottle of lite soy sauce gives a sodium content of 530 mg sodium per tablespoon and regular soy sauce is about 25-30% more. I doubt anyone is cooking rice without salt, so this one gets pretty high if you aren’t paying attention–the American Heart Association recommends no more than 2300 mg daily for any adult and drops that gradually to 1500 for people in middle age. This recipe, if one uses lite soy, keeps the per serving sodium within guidelines as long is one is paying attention for the rest of the day. I dropped to half of the soy sauce and sugar, and it was still delicious.
Eggplant is a wonderful choice for meatless meals as, despite very little protein, it seems to satisfy meat cravings. I love it in sandwiches, stir fries, casseroles, etc., and have gradually converted my whole family–kids grew up with it, but I started early on DH and it took a while to take hold. Eggplant does, however, have a tendency to soak up oil in amazing amounts, so one needs to watch that. This time of year, I always make ratatouille–eggplant, yellow squash or zucchini, onions, tomatoes, plus some olives or capers (as in Italian caponata) for some vinegar zing. The soy-ginger combo in this recipe hits those same notes.
Great job, Beth–you keep me cooking and also thinking about what we eat and why. Without great taste, nothing else matters, and you continue to provide terrific recipes that are not only cost effective, but delicious. Time for another cookbook?
Thank you, Janet! Unfortunately I probably won’t be publishing another print cookbook. :) Self publishing online is 1000x more fulfilling and rewarding to me. Haha!
Ah, Janet…
Hey this is a great recipe!
If I want to incorporate chicken into this dish, will it compromise the glaze affect?
It shouldn’t hurt the glaze, as long as the chicken is fully cooked before you add the glaze to the skillet. :)
Very intriguing recipe. I’ll likely try it. Want to thank you for one of my favorite cost saving tips … fresh ginger stored in the freezer. Read this from you some time ago and I always have fresh ginger now without the waste I used to have.
Hello when you say it meal preps well for the week. Do you mean you can leave it in fridge or freezer?
Yes, I just mean that I portion out the recipe into individual serving containers and keep them in the fridge for a few days (usually up to 4 days) so I can have meals ready to reheat in the microwave. :)
Made this tonight and loved it! Sesame seeds on top is a MUST!
Just so you and your readers know, there is a vegan Sriracha mayo. It’s called Sriracha Just Mayo and is quite commonly available especially at Walmart. Much cheaper than other vegan mayos and it doesn’t have soy in it either!
This looks delicious!! Have you ever tried coconut aminos? They are like a sweet soy sauce. I have found that I can replace the soy and brown sugar in stir fry sauces with this one ingredient. They used to be more pricey but now there is some competition in the market and prices have come down.
Def going to try this recipe! Thanks Beth for some beautiful creative veggie recipes this summer.
Stay cool!
HOW DID YOU KNOW I BOUGHT A RANDOM EGGPLANT TODAY???
Can’t wait to make this soon!
I CAN SEE YOU. 👀