Description

Roasted eggplant with sweet and spicy peppers in an addictive sweet, spicy sauce

Ingredients

1/2 of a medium sweet onion (or red onion – or 2 shallots), peeled & chopped
3 – 5 cloves garlic, peeled & chopped
1 medium globe eggplant (peeled) or 2 – 3 Japanese eggplant (not peeled)
1 – 2 teaspoons hot sesame oil
1 1/2 Tablespoons avocado oil

For the sauce:

1 Tablespoon EACH: oyster sauce. fish sauce, light sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons rice vinegar
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 Tablespoon Sriracha (or more, to taste)

To finish:

2 bell peppers (preferably 1 red, 1 green)
1 teaspoon hot sesame oil and/or avocado oil
2 – 4 teaspoons chopped jalapenos or salsa peppers – or 2 – 5 birds eye chili peppers
2 teaspoons cornstarch, mixed with a bit of the sauce
1 loose cup of basil leaves, chopped, plus more for garnish

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Instructions

Preheat oven to 400 F. Chop into 1/2 inch slices, then cut each slice into 1/2 inch strips and cut in half. Set the eggplant on a baking sheet lined with silicon baking mat (or oiled/sprayed). Sprinkle the garlic and onion over the eggplant, then drizzle the oil over. Give it a quick toss to coat the eggplant in oil, then put in oven and roast for about 15 – 20 minutes or until the eggplant are tender.
While the eggplant are cooking, seed and chop the peppers and make the sauce by whisking all the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl.
When the eggplant are almost done, in a wok or saute pan, add the hot sesame or olive oil and bell peppers. Cook until the bell peppers are tender. Add the roasted eggplant mixture, hot peppers, and most of the sauce. Give it a gentle stir. Whisk the cornstarch in the reserved sauce and drizzle over. Add the chopped basil. Stir briefly until the sauce is thickened. Taste and add more sriracha or hot peppers if desired. Remove from heat and enjoy!

Notes

Feel free to use plain sesame oil (or not) and tone up or down the hot peppers to adjust the spiciness of the dish to your own liking.

If you’re using a globe eggplant or one with tougher skin, peel it first. If your eggplant is a Japanese or fairy tale eggplant, no need to peel it.

This is traditionally a vegetarian dish, but you can absolutely add your protein of choice to this dish. I ordered it with shrimp in Seattle.

RECIPE SOURCE: Sumptuous Spoonfuls – https://www.sumptuousspoonfuls.com/ … © Copyright 2025, Sumptuous Spoonfuls. This recipe was made by a REAL person with REAL ingredients. The photos are real photos taken by me personally. There is nothing AI here. This is real food made by real people for real people. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to publish any of my images, please ask first. If you want to republish this recipe as your own, please re-write the recipe in your own words or link back to this post for the recipe.