Din Tai Fung Style Braised Eggplant
A restaurant-quality braised eggplant dish inspired by Din Tai Fung, featuring vibrant purple skin without deep-frying. The tender eggplant is infused with an aromatic savory-sweet sauce seasoned with garlic, chili, and fragrant Thai basil.
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🍳 Cooking Flow
Cut eggplants into cylindrical pieces, toss with salt and sugar for 10 minutes, then pat completely dry. → Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl. → Sauté garlic and scallion whites, pour in sauce, bring to a boil with chili and basil, then reserve the basil. → Drizzle sauce over eggplants and steam on high heat in a preheated steamer for 5 minutes. → Remove lid immediately, drizzle sesame oil, garnish with reserved basil, and chill before serving.
Cooking Steps
Brief Cooking Order
Cut eggplants into cylindrical pieces, toss with salt and sugar for 10 minutes, then pat completely dry. → Whisk together the sauce ingredients in a bowl. → Sauté garlic and scallion whites, pour in sauce, bring to a boil with chili and basil, then reserve the basil. → Drizzle sauce over eggplants and steam on high heat in a preheated steamer for 5 minutes. → Remove lid immediately, drizzle sesame oil, garnish with reserved basil, and chill before serving.
Introduction
A restaurant-quality braised eggplant dish inspired by Din Tai Fung, featuring vibrant purple skin without deep-frying. The tender eggplant is infused with an aromatic savory-sweet sauce seasoned with garlic, chili, and fragrant Thai basil.
Step 1
Trim the stems from the eggplants and slice them into cylindrical sections roughly 4 to 6 cm in length.
Step 2
Place the cut eggplant sections into a bowl, sprinkle with salt and 1 teaspoon of sugar, and toss thoroughly. Let sit for about 10 minutes to draw out excess moisture.
Step 3
Thoroughly pat the eggplant pieces dry using paper towels, particularly the cut surfaces, and arrange them neatly into a heatproof steaming dish.
Step 4
In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, oyster sauce, water, chili oil, vinegar, a splash of sesame oil, white pepper powder, sugar, and dried scallop powder until completely combined.
Step 5
Finely chop the scallion whites and mince the garlic cloves.
Ingredients List
Important Notes
Choose long, slender, and firm eggplants with smooth, shiny skin to achieve the neat cylindrical presentation characteristic of Din Tai Fung.
Salting and sugaring draws out water so the eggplant absorbs the savory sauce efficiently instead of becoming watery.
Preheating the steamer so it is full of high-temperature steam before adding the eggplant prevents discoloration and keeps the purple skin vibrant.
Always take the lid off immediately after 5 minutes of steaming to prevent steam condensation from dulling the eggplant's purple color.
Scooping out the Thai basil leaves before steaming prevents them from turning black; use them as a fresh garnish on top.
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