My mom’s a huge gardener and she always has been. Even when she was a little kid, she spent her days helping my grandma in the garden. Now, even though she’s living in the middle of the city with a concrete patch for a backyard, she’s still growing as much as she can. I love going over to pick out fruits and vegetables. It’s kind of like having your own personal mini farm. And, as she always likes to remind me, it’s all completely organic.
The other day I went to pick up some shredded cheese (yes, I often get calls from my mom telling me to come home to pick up random groceries she’s boughten me) and I saw her eggplant plants. They were gorgeous. She gave me a particularly large one to take home and I was ridiculously excited. I decided to slice the eggplant into sticks and shallow fry it before tossing it in a honey garlic sauce. The benefits of high-heat shallow frying is two-fold: it ensures that the eggplant doesn’t absorb too much oil and also cooks it quickly so you have a somewhat crispy exterior and super-creamy interior.
These guys were so, so good. I texted my mom to tell her and her reply to me was: taste the freshness. Mike and I laughed for a good five minutes about it. But seriously, this eggplant is fresh!
Honey Garlic Eggplant Recipe
serves 2
- 1 large Japanese eggplant
- grapeseed oil for frying
- 3 cloves of garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
- toasted black sesame seeds, for garnish
- sliced green onions, for garnish
- fluffy white rice or grain of choice, to serve
Cut the eggplant into 3/4 inch sticks.
In a deep-sided skillet, heat up 1/2 inch of oil over medium to medium-high until it reaches 360°F. Fry eggplant in small batches, flipping if needed, until lightly golden brown, about two minutes. Remove from the oil and drain on a cooling rack.
In a small sauce pan, heat up a touch of oil and cook the garlic on medium heat until slightly golden, but not browned, 1-2 minutes. Add the honey, soy sauce and ground pepper. Turn the heat up to high so the honey-soy mixture bubbles, thickens and turns into caramel-sticky goodness.
Toss the eggplant with the sauce and garnish with sesame seeds and green onions. Enjoy immediately with rice or grain of choice.
We’re on an eggplant kick right now, totally need to make this!
Yes!! I once had eggplant fries sprinkled with spices and drizzled in honey. I know this is different, but I can personally vouch for the delicious combo that is eggplant + honey.
Eggplant is my favorite veggie ever!! And this looks spectacular. Simple and perfect. My mom gives me grocery (or random gifts) allllll the time too, she even mails me stuff, and she only lives 20 minutes away, haha.
Your recipes and photos are so inspiring!! I’ve already been to Amazon and ordered your cookbook. I am addicted to wonderful cookbooks — I read them like novels.
Oh, this sounds so tasty! I love eggplants although sadly my boyfriend hates them so I don’t cook them very often. But next time I’m having a solo lady dinner, this is what I’m going to make!
I have never seen eggplant look so lovely in a dish. The color is fantastic and your photos really capture the striking contrast. I think I’ll try this tonight since I have some beautiful sourwood honey that is a bit powerful on bread but might be great for a pop of flavor in this dish.
That looks fantastic!! I love garlic and eggplant!
It was meant to be! I just picked some up before I saw this recipe. I can’t wait to make it!
This recipe would go so well with all the seafood I love to cook! Thank you!