I was in Thailand recently and enjoyed trying their street food. One popular dish that stood out was the Thai-style stir fry with basil. After returning home, I felt inspired to create new dishes based on what I experienced during my trip. Here is the result. I want to share my Thai-style eggplant stir fry with basil with you.

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Ingredients required to prepare Thai stir-fried eggplants

Before we discuss how to prepare this dish, let’s look at the key ingredients required for the recipe.

• Eggplant. As the name of this recipe suggests, eggplant is the primary ingredient. I prefer using Chinese eggplants. If those are unavailable, you can use different eggplants, such as regular globe eggplants, Japanese eggplants, or any other Asian eggplants you have on hand.
• Chilies. The second most important ingredient is chili pepper. In this recipe, I use two different types. The first is bird’s eye chili, which is quite spicy. The second type is cayenne pepper (Capsicum annuum), a larger red chili commonly used in Thai and Malaysian cuisine. Cayenne pepper is less spicy than the smaller bird’s eye chilies. I use both types to balance the heat, ensuring the dish isn’t overwhelmingly spicy with just the bird’s eye chili. You may also add Thai chili paste (Nam Prik Pao), as different chilies provide different flavors. 
• Garlic and chicken. In addition to the chilies, I add a few cloves of garlic, which are pounded together with the chili. Though this dish is primarily an eggplant stir-fry, I also include ground chicken to make it a complete meal. You can skip the chicken if you prefer it as a vegetarian dish.
• Seasoning. I use fish sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, and dark soy sauce for seasoning. While in Thailand, I noticed that they typically used only fish sauce without adding soy and oyster sauce. However, I’d like to enhance the flavor in this recipe by incorporating these additional sauces. If you like the flavor of sesame oil, add it to the list as well.

Steps to prepare the Thai eggplant stir fry

1. First, wash the eggplants and cut off both ends. Then, slice the eggplants into wedges or rings about 1 cm thick. You can also cut them into batons, as the shape is entirely up to you.

2. Next, soak the eggplant in a solution of salt and vinegar for about five to ten minutes. Thereafter, rinse the eggplant thoroughly with water to remove the vinegar and salt. This step is optional but helps retain the vibrant purplish color of the eggplant. Lay the eggplants in a single layer on a dry cloth or paper towel to dry them.

3. Coarsely mince the chicken meat. There’s no need to mince it finely since you want to keep some texture for a better mouthfeel. You can use chicken breasts, thighs, or a combination. If you prefer, substitute the chicken with beef.

4. In a small bowl, combine all the seasoning ingredients: fish sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and a little water to dilute.

5. Cut the chilies into small pieces and place them in a mortar. Remove the seeds if you prefer less spicy. Begin pounding the chilies, and halfway through, add the garlic. Pound until it becomes a coarse paste and ensure there are no large pieces of chilies exist.

6. Heat some oil in a wok and start sautéing the chili and garlic until they become fragrant.

7. When the chili and garlic turn fragrant, add the minced chicken over a low flame and continue frying until it is slightly browned and aromatic.

8. Add the eggplant with some water and cook until the eggplant softens. Then, add the sauce that you have already prepared and mix well. Finally, add the basil leaves and turn off the heat to let the residual heat continue cooking the basil until it wilts. The Thai-style eggplant stir-fry is now ready to serve!

9. Prepare the dipping sauce and fried egg:

• Thai-style eggplant stir-fry is best served with a fried egg. Heat some oil over medium to high heat. Crack an egg and gently place it in the oil at least one inch deep (practically deep-fried). This technique will crisp up the edges of the egg, which is typical for a classic Thai-style fried egg. Once cooked, remove the egg and place it on a paper towel to absorb the excess oil.
• The Thai basil stir-fry is usually served with a simple dipping sauce. The sauce is made with chopped chili and garlic in a small bowl, then mixed with fish sauce and lime juice. If you’re too lazy to make the sauce, use Thai chili sauce (nam prick pao) as a dipping sauce.

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Thai Eggplant Sir-fry with basil

Yield: 3 servings

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Try making this Thai Eggplant Stir-fry with basil at home. It has a spicy flavor combined with aromatic basil leaves.

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Ingredients

Ingredients A (Stir-fry sauce)

• 3.5 tbsp fish sauce
• 1.5 tbsp oyster sauce
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce (Optional)

Ingredients B (Other ingredients)

• 1 pound eggplant
• 1 large bunch of basil leaves
• 150g chicken meat, minced
• 6 bird's eye chili
• 2 large red chilies
• 4 cloves garlic
• 2 eggs
• Sufficient oil for frying

Ingredients C (dipping sauce)

• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 tbsp fish sauce
• 1 tsp chopped chili
• 1/2 tsp chopped garlic

Instructions

Preparation: 

1. First, wash the eggplants and cut off both ends. Then, slice the eggplants into wedges or rings about 1 cm thick. 
2. Next, soak the eggplant in a salt and vinegar solution for about five to ten minutes. Afterward, rinse the eggplant thoroughly with water to remove the vinegar and salt. 
3. Coarsely mince the chicken meat.
4. In a small bowl, combine all the seasoning ingredients: fish sauce, oyster sauce, light soy sauce, dark soy sauce, and a little water to dilute.
5. Cut the chilies into small pieces and place them in a mortar. Begin pounding the chilies, and halfway through, add the garlic. Continue to pound until it becomes a coarse paste.

Stir-frying:

1. Heat some oil in a wok and start sautéing the chili and garlic until they become fragrant. 
2. Add the minced chicken over a low flame and continue frying until it is slightly browned and aromatic.
3. Next, add the eggplant along with a little water and cook until the eggplant starts to soften. 
4. Then, add the sauce that you have already prepared and mix well.
5. Finally, add the basil leaves and turn off the heat. Allow the residual heat to continue cooking the basil until it wilts. The Thai-style eggplant stir-fry is now ready to serve!

Prepare the dipping sauce and fried egg:

1. Crack an egg and gently place it in the oil, ensuring enough oil—at least one inch deep—so the egg can practically deep-fry. Once cooked, remove the egg and place it on a paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
2. To make the dipping sauce, combine chopped chili and garlic in a small bowl, then add fish sauce and lime juice. 

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Nutrition Information:

Yield: 3 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1412Total Fat: 80gSaturated Fat: 24gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 37gCholesterol: 370mgSodium: 7236mgCarbohydrates: 79gFiber: 9gSugar: 18gProtein: 96g

This data was provided and calculated by Nutritionix on 11/4/2024

More Thai recipes for you

If you like this Thai basil eggplant stir fry, here are a few more Thai recipes that I want to introduce to you:

• Basil fried rice.
• Thai green curry.
• Thai steamed fish with lime and garlic.