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Recipes by Category » Stir-fries » Eggplant Stir-Fried with Thai Basil Leaves & Salted Soy Beans

Published: Jun 20, 2019 · Modified: Jan 8, 2021 by Nart · This post may contain affiliate links.

Eggplant Stir-Fried with Thai Basil Leaves & Salted Soy Beans

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a bowl of thai eggplant stir-fried with salted soy beans and Thai basil

Stir-fried eggplant? I say YASSSSS. And add some Thai basil leaves to it for the amazing aroma too — because that’s just how we roll!

This Thai-style eggplant stir-fry is a simple yet special dish. I’ve never seen or had any other Asian version that uses a similar combo of ingredients before. I suppose the things that make the Thai stir-fried eggplant different are salted boy beans and Thai basil leaves.

We normally use fish sauce, oyster sauce and soy sauce to season our stir-fries, but here we’re using none of those! Salted soy beans definitely give this dish enough saltiness. If you don’t have salted soy beans but happen to have miso, you can use miso too. I’ve tested the recipe with it and it turned out just as well!

a bowl of thai eggplant stir-fried with salted soy beans and Thai basil

Salted soy beans and sugar make this eggplant stir-fried taste super yum. Lemme guess… You’re thinking sugar in a stir-fry is a no no. Am I right? But trust me, as strange as it sounds, this eggplant stir-fry is ah-mazinggg. And the bird’s eye chilies and Thai basil leaves just enhance the flavor even further.

**This Thai stir-fried eggplant will NOT be the same without Thai basil leaves. It just won’t. So make sure you have them!

We also add water to the pan while cooking but not too much. Why water? Because the liquid in any Asian stir-fry mixed with rice is the best thing in the world. Repeat: THE BEST. The stuff absorbs the flavor of each individual ingredient and is therefore rice and intense.

THE SECRET TO KEEPING THE EGGPLANT GREEN AND FIRM

Okay, so this is what my mom does and told me to do: fry the eggplant first and set it aside. In Thailand, we like to use the green long eggplant for this dish, and the green eggplant gets quite dark when cooked. Also, if you cook it for too long, it becomes too soft. Not that it’s not delicious soft, but it could get so soft that it won’t stay in pieces or look appealing when you serve it. Know what I mean? So my mom taught me to cook the eggplant, set it aside, cook everything else in the pan except for the chilies and Thai basil leaves, and then add the eggplant back to the pan with the chilies and Thai basil leaves. This way, the eggplant will stay green and hold itself better.

I understand, though, that you don’t get green long eggplants everywhere, so you can use the normal purple eggplant. If you’re using that, you probably won’t need to worry about the color, but you may still want to fry the eggplant first to keep the texture firm. 🙂

So how about eggplant stir-fry with rice for dinner tonight? What d’ya think?

a bowl of thai eggplant stir-fried with salted soy beans and Thai basil

Eggplant Stir-Fried with Thai Basil Leaves & Salted Soy Beans Recipe

This is an easy Thai green long eggplant stir-fry with Thai basil leaves and salted soy beans. The Thai basil leaves and salted soy beans really help make this Thai eggplant stir-fry so delicious and different from the other versions. So good with rice!
5 from 10 votes
Print Rate
Cuisine: Thai
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
Servings: 3 servings
Author: Nart

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons cooking oil
  • 1 medium-sized Thai green long eggplant or any kind of eggplant you can find cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 4 cloves garlic smashed
  • 180 grams beef cut into bite-sized pieces
  • 1 tablespoon salted soy beans
  • ½ tablespoon sugar
  • 100 milliliters water
  • 5-7 Thai bird's eye chilies sliced diagonally
  • 1 cup Thai basil leaves

Instructions

  • Heal oil in a pan over medium heat and fry the eggplant for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside. This is going to keep the texture and color of the eggplant nice, as opposed to cooking it in the pan the whole time.
  • Add garlic and beef to the pan and stir until the beef is almost done.
  • Add water and season with salted soy beans and sugar. Adjust the seasoning as needed.
  • Place the eggplant back in the pan with chilies and Thai basil leaves and stir for another 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and serve with rice immediately.
Tried this recipe?Mention @cookingwithnart or tag #cookingwithnart!

 

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Comments

  1. Amanda Wren-Grimwood says

    August 04, 2020 at 5:56 pm

    5 stars
    I love eggplant in curries and I’m definitely trying this one.

    Reply
    • Nart says

      August 27, 2020 at 11:53 am

      I hope you like it.

      Reply
  2. Dannii says

    August 04, 2020 at 3:23 pm

    5 stars
    Oh wow, this sounds amazing. I am always looking for new ways to eat eggplant.

    Reply
    • Nart says

      August 27, 2020 at 11:52 am

      Thank you.

      Reply
  3. Anjali says

    August 04, 2020 at 3:21 pm

    5 stars
    I don’t normally like eggplant, but this recipe was so flavorful you have converted me!! I’ll definitely be making this again!

    Reply
    • Nart says

      August 27, 2020 at 11:52 am

      Aw, thank you! So happy to hear that! <3

      Reply
  4. Sadia Malik says

    August 04, 2020 at 1:02 pm

    Have never had the green eggplant is it the same as the more common purple one?

    Reply
    • Nart says

      August 27, 2020 at 11:52 am

      I would say the green one is sweeter 🙂

      Reply
  5. Lathiya says

    April 09, 2020 at 3:33 am

    5 stars
    I never cooked eggplant in this way. Looks delicious and fabulous,

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 10, 2020 at 9:42 am

      Thank you!

      Reply
  6. Beth says

    April 03, 2020 at 12:24 am

    5 stars
    This sounds and looks so great, and makes me even happier that I’m going to growing my own Thai basil soon! Now that I’m back in Hawaii I can get long purple eggplant easily, and I’m definitely one of the cook-til-it-falls-apart types.

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 05, 2020 at 8:56 pm

      Thank you and yay to you being able to grow Thai basil! It makes such a difference for this dish!

      Reply
  7. Anindya Sundar Basu says

    April 02, 2020 at 4:57 pm

    Egg plant is the most sought after vegetable these days it seems .

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 14, 2020 at 10:36 am

      People seem to like it 🙂

      Reply
  8. Jacqueline Debono says

    April 02, 2020 at 2:57 pm

    5 stars
    We eat a lot of eggplant but mostly in Italian dishes. However, I love Thai food so am definitely going to try this!

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 05, 2020 at 9:02 pm

      Enjoy my friend!

      Reply
  9. Patrice says

    April 02, 2020 at 2:51 pm

    5 stars
    I love Thai food and this is a recipe that I haven’t tried before. Looks delicious!

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 05, 2020 at 9:02 pm

      Thank you!

      Reply
  10. Christy Boston's Kitchen says

    April 02, 2020 at 8:04 am

    This looks divine! I really like the technique you used to cut the eggplant into bite sized chunks as apposed to the usual slices. It looks so hearty!

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 02, 2020 at 8:12 am

      Thank you so much! <3

      Reply
  11. adriana says

    April 01, 2020 at 2:36 pm

    YUmmy I love eggplant stir fry when I go to teh Thai restaurant I always order this it is nice to have the recipe.

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 02, 2020 at 8:14 am

      Thank you, enjoy!

      Reply
  12. Saif says

    April 01, 2020 at 8:32 am

    I love eggplant dish. This looks so delicious. Thai food is and will always be one of my favorite cuisines.

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 02, 2020 at 8:15 am

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  13. Alpa says

    April 01, 2020 at 4:49 am

    5 stars
    I like to try different eggplant dishes.

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 01, 2020 at 7:45 am

      You’ll love this one! 🙂

      Reply
  14. Felicia says

    March 31, 2020 at 8:53 pm

    5 stars
    I really loved your tip on how to keep the green eggplant firm and pretty! I’ve never had green eggplant but love grilled purple eggplant. Thank you for these tips.!

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 01, 2020 at 7:45 am

      You’re welcome!

      Reply
  15. Rochelle says

    March 31, 2020 at 8:39 pm

    5 stars
    I love this recipe. My family absolutely adores Thai food. Thank you so much for sharing! Will definitely make again!

    Reply
    • Nart says

      April 01, 2020 at 7:46 am

      Thank you so much!

      Reply

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