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!
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.
See how we calculate recipe costs here.
Notes
Nutrition
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @budgetbytes or tag #budgetbytes on Instagram!Scroll down for the step by step photos
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.
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!