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    You are here: Home / Entrees / Szechuan Eggplant with Tofu

    LAST UPDATED: January 28, 2022 • FIRST PUBLISHED: June 13, 2016

    Szechuan Eggplant with Tofu

    Jump to Recipe Print Recipe

    This melt-in-your-mouth Szechuan eggplant is pan fried, coated in a garlicky sweet-spicy sauce and served with crispy tofu over a bed of rice.

    Overhead View of a Plate of Szechuan Tofu and Eggplant with Rice, Topped with Scallions

    As I was getting this post together and looking at the posts I've got planned out for the next few weeks, I realized that most of them feature something that came out of my garden, or a friend's garden, or the farmers market...you get the drift. I'm guessing lots of you have an overabundance of fresh peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant and the like in your kitchens. Yesterday's post featured tomato and basil, both harvested from my backyard. Today it's eggplant and scallions, also harvested from my own crops. I can't say every post will be like this (spoiler alert, tomorrow's isn't), but most will.

    Szechuan Eggplant with Tofu

    Moving on to eggplant! If you're like me, you planted the ever-popular purple globe eggplants. Traditionally, however, this dish would be made with Chinese eggplants, which are a bit more tender than globes and other more common varieties. You can get away with subbing another type of eggplant here, and in the U.S. at least, globes are the ones that'll be easiest for you to find. Globe eggplants are what I planted in my garden this year, simply because I can work them into all kinds of recipes. Just stick with a pound of whatever variety you go with and you should be set. Be sure to let me know how it turns out if you try some fun eggplant substitution.

    Szechuan Eggplant with Tofu
    Overhead View of a Plate of Szechuan Tofu and Eggplant with Rice, Topped with Scallions
    4.8 from 15 votes
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    Szechuan Eggplant with Tofu

    This melt-in-your-mouth Szechuan eggplant is pan fried, coated in a garlicky sweet-spicy sauce and served with crispy tofu over a bed of rice.
    Course Entree
    Cuisine American, Chinese
    Prep Time 10 minutes
    Cook Time 20 minutes
    Total Time 30 minutes
    Servings 4
    Calories 215 kcal
    Author Alissa

    Ingredients

    For the Crispy Tofu

    • Cooking spray or a bit of oil
    • 1 lb. extra firm tofu pressed at least 15 minutes and cubed

    For the Szechuan Eggplant

    • ¼ cup vegetable broth
    • 2 tbsp. soy sauce
    • 2 tbsp. brown sugar
    • 1 tbsp. rice vinegar
    • 2 tsp. Asian chili paste or to taste
    • 2 tsp. cornstarch
    • 1 ½ tbsp. vegetable oil
    • 1 tsp. sesame oil
    • 3 garlic cloves minced
    • 1 lb. eggplant sliced into thin strips (no thicker than ½ inch)
    • 2 scallions chopped

    Instructions

    Prepare the Tofu

    1. Coat large skillet with oil or cooking spray and place over medium-high heat.
    2. Add tofu to skillet in a single layer. Cook until browned on each side - about 3 minutes per side. Remove from skillet, transfer to a plate and set aside.

    Prepare the Eggplant

    1. Whisk broth, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar, chili paste and cornstarch together in small bowl. Set aside.
    2. Place vegetable and sesame oil in skillet place over medium heat. Add garlic and sauté for 1 minute.
    3. Add eggplant strips in a single layer. Cook about 5 minutes, until strips are browned on bottoms. Gently flip and cook another 5 minutes, until browned on opposite side and tender. You can add a dash more oil if the skillet begins to dry out.
    4. Add soy sauce mixture to skillet and cook about 1 more minute, until thickened and eggplant is well coated.
    5. Add tofu to skillet and toss to distribute.
    6. Divide among plates or bowls. Serve with rice and top with scallions.

    Recipe Notes

    Nutrition information does not include rice.

    Nutrition Facts
    Szechuan Eggplant with Tofu
    Amount Per Serving
    Calories 215 Calories from Fat 117
    % Daily Value*
    Fat 13g20%
    Saturated Fat 2.5g13%
    Sodium 518mg22%
    Potassium 494mg14%
    Carbohydrates 16.2g5%
    Fiber 5.3g21%
    Sugar 8.8g10%
    Protein 11.5g23%
    Calcium 200mg20%
    Iron 2.5mg14%
    * Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
    Szechuan Eggplant with Tofu

     
    « Crispy Maple-Dijon Tempeh Sandwiches
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    About Alissa Saenz

    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors! You can read more about me here.

    I'd love to connect with you on Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.

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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Lindsay @ KitchenOperas says

      September 02, 2014 at 12:54 pm

      THIS LOOKS PERFECT!!! I've pinned it to my list of recipes to make -- thanks!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 02, 2014 at 9:18 pm

        Awesome! Thanks so much for the pin. Enjoy :)

        Reply
    2. Meredith @ Unexpectedly Magnificent says

      September 02, 2014 at 2:25 pm

      I've never been a fan of eggplant, although I *do* like Szechuan sauce! I haven't had it in forever. I'll definitely use this recipe the next time I make tofu fried rice. :)

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 02, 2014 at 9:19 pm

        The sauce was really tasty and I was thinking about what other uses I could put it to as well. Tofu fried rice sounds perfect :)

        Reply
    3. Thalia @ butter and brioche says

      September 02, 2014 at 10:42 pm

      Sounds delicious and I bet it tastes amazing with all those flavoursome ingredients. Definitely will be recreating the recipe for my vegetarian household!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 03, 2014 at 10:08 am

        It really is pretty flavor-packed. Thanks, and I hope you and and everyone in your veggie household enjoys this :)

        Reply
    4. Umm Haneefah @ The Halal Gourmet says

      September 03, 2014 at 4:21 pm

      Eggplant + rice + szechuan = sold. This looks really tasty and I just happen to have some eggplant on hand....

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 03, 2014 at 10:00 pm

        Perfect! Gotta love that combo :) I hope you enjoy it!!

        Reply
        • Veggiecook says

          August 27, 2021 at 3:07 pm

          Hi Alissa, eggplants are one of my favorite vegetables along with sweet potatoes and mushrooms. And your dish looks fabulous however you may want to edit your instructions as it takes longer than 30 min to prep and cook it all! Please note that you’re suggesting 10 minutes prepping but you are also advising to press the tutu for 15min
          As you can see that’s not right. Just a suggetion!

          Reply
    5. Ginnie says

      September 08, 2014 at 9:15 pm

      This looks super delicious and just might get my husband to eat eggplant:)

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 09, 2014 at 9:31 pm

        Haha nice! I hope it works. ;) Thanks Ginnie!

        Reply
    6. Martha says

      September 10, 2014 at 9:54 am

      Hi there. I love szechuan eggplant and just received a lot (!) of eggplants from my farmers' market. Do you think I could make it up (without the tofu), freeze it in recipe-sized portions, and then later prepare the tofu and add the thawed eggplant dish and fresh scallions? Obviously, this is a very quick dish to make in the moment but I have the eggplants now. Thanks, and I look forward to other recipes using garden produce because I have a lot of it coming in. Martha

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 10, 2014 at 5:53 pm

        Hi Martha! I've had a similar problem - in my case it's an overabundance of eggplant from my garden this year. From what I've read, freezing eggplant after cooking generally works just fine. I've never tested that and you can never say for sure with any particular recipe, but I think with this one you'd probably be okay to freeze it. If you do, I'd love to hear how it works out :)

        Reply
    7. Claudia says

      September 29, 2014 at 12:39 am

      I made this recipe and it was sooooo yummy! I posted my "attempt" on my instagram account. If you have an account , I would be more than happy to tag you :)

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 30, 2014 at 9:27 pm

        Yay!!! So glad you liked this! I don't have an instagram account...I'm so bad with social media! Hoping to finally get on instagram by the end of the year. Thank you for offering though, and thanks so much for commenting to let me know how it worked out - that always makes me smile. :)

        Reply
        • Mike says

          October 27, 2019 at 8:06 pm

          5 stars
          Great recipe. We found this searching for a recipe with tofu and eggplant. We had one pound of “fairytale eggplant” (small with purple and white skin). Recipe was straight forward and results excellent.

          Thank you.

          Reply
          • Alissa Saenz says

            November 02, 2019 at 8:46 pm

            Wonderful! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Mike!

            Reply
      • Elly says

        December 04, 2019 at 9:31 pm

        5 stars
        This was really, really delicious! Thank you for the awesome recipe!

        Reply
        • Alissa Saenz says

          December 08, 2019 at 10:47 am

          Very welcome! I'm glad you like it!

          Reply
    8. Taylor @ What Vegetarians Eat says

      September 30, 2014 at 2:13 pm

      Yum! I love eggplant! I don't think an abundance of it would ever be a problem for me lol. I also like to cube it up and toss with cherry tomatoes, scallions, olive oil, salt and pepper. Roast at 350 for about 15 minutes. Delish! Can't wait to make this - thanks for sharing!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        September 30, 2014 at 9:31 pm

        I've done pretty well with using up all my eggplant since this post, and I still have a few more to harvest. Your roasted eggplant sounds awesome, and so easy. I hope you enjoy this dish when you get to try it! :)

        Reply
    9. Tanya says

      June 13, 2016 at 7:59 pm

      I chose this to be my birthday meal and it didn't let me down!! Excellent!! Thanks for creating and sharing this recipe!!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        June 13, 2016 at 8:44 pm

        Yay! Glad you liked it, and Happy Birthday!!

        Reply
    10. Ann says

      November 30, 2017 at 10:51 pm

      5 stars
      I made this a couple of days ago, modified to suit my low Fodmap diet (just left out garlic cloves and fried eggplant in a suitable garlic infused oil instead). It was delicious and I will be making it again. Thanks!

      Reply
      • Ann says

        November 30, 2017 at 10:55 pm

        Oops, I forgot to add that I dusted the eggplant in cornflour, salt & szechuan pepper before frying and then added 2 tsp of the leftover cornflour mix to the sauce, instead of adding the plain cornflour. Hope that makes sense.

        Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        December 03, 2017 at 9:43 pm

        Yay!! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Ann!

        Reply
    11. Vanessa Ramirez says

      March 01, 2018 at 11:26 am

      5 stars
      Tried this recipe last night! It was so good and very easy to make. I happened to have all the ingredients which made it all the better. I used the globe eggplant, since thats what I had on hand and it turned out delicious. I just made sure to slice it in thin slivers. The one addition I may include next time are slices of red onions. Other than that, perfect and simple! Thanks for sharing this recipe!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        March 03, 2018 at 10:45 am

        I think red onions would be a delicious addition! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Vanessa!

        Reply
    12. Lucy says

      October 26, 2018 at 9:24 pm

      5 stars
      Rich and delicious!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        October 28, 2018 at 3:44 pm

        I'm glad you think so!

        Reply
    13. Cap'n Dave says

      February 09, 2019 at 9:06 am

      I haven't had eggplant in forever! (And this coming from a former sous-chef at an Italian restaurant in New York??? Um...*hangs head in shame*)

      Will definitely need to try this, and SOON! Berkeley Bowl is just about 3 miles from me - an easy bike ride - and their produce section is phenomenal! (And OMG their pepper and mushroom selections...WOW!) But Whole Foods is on the way to work, and guess what? I go to work tomorrow! Might just have to pick some up. (I also don't have the chili paste...but THEY do, I'm sure!)

      Monday's dinner selection at the Captain's table here on the Sailing Yacht Fairy Tail? Yep! (I'm thinking some julienned carrots and maybe some sliced radishes for a garnish?)

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        February 10, 2019 at 8:42 pm

        Yes! You can add all kinds of veggies to this, and I think carrots and radishes would be awesome. I hope you enjoy it!!

        Reply
    14. Emma S says

      February 26, 2019 at 7:37 pm

      5 stars
      Made this for the first time tonight and it was delicious! I used thick chilli sauce instead of paste and brown onion instead of scallions but otherwise used all the ingredients as suggested. I mixed all the sauce ingredients before realizing you should hold some back, so I fried the first batch of eggplant using about half ot the total sauce, then used the remaining sauce for the rest of the eggplant and to mix everything together. The result was definitely not as pretty as in the photos but tastes great!

      Reply
      • Alissa Saenz says

        March 03, 2019 at 4:53 pm

        Yay! I'm so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks Emma!

        Reply
    15. Rosalie Reeves says

      December 12, 2019 at 8:39 pm

      4 stars
      I loved the sauce, and I added broccoli to the eggplant stir fry. We found the tofu tasted rather bland, however, so next time I plan to make a bit more sauce in which to marinate the tofu for at least 30 minutes prior to sauteeing it.

      Reply
    16. Susan says

      March 26, 2020 at 7:57 am

      4 stars
      I wish I had time to read all the comments before I cooked this and modify slightly. I struggled with the eggplant which too wet for browning in pan but was somewhat easier because of your recommendation to slice it thinly. I changed up the tofu prep by baking it (tossing it in "nooch" and tamari first)so it was crispy. I put the eggplant in the oven but not as long as the tofu, so then I cooked it quite a while in wok, allowing it to dry out a bit. One suggestion to toss it in cornstarch might help. I added some thinly sliced red bell pepper as well. The sauce was delicious and when all was combined it was great with brown rice. Will definitely make again. I always enjoy ordering this in Chinese restaurants. Thank you for this and many of your delicious recipes. I'm a new (9 mos) vegan and it is such a help!

      Reply
    17. jak10 says

      May 17, 2020 at 7:15 pm

      5 stars
      All the dish needed to look like it came from a restaurant was the takeout container--tasted professional. too.

      Reply
    18. Laurel says

      July 15, 2020 at 7:32 pm

      5 stars
      I scored some Dominican eggplants from the grocery store recently and wanted to try a new recipe. This recipe is fab! 10 out of 10 will make again. My boyfriend loved it too :)

      Reply
    19. Marilyn P. says

      September 08, 2020 at 8:50 am

      5 stars
      BEYOND FABULOUS! I tweaked a few things … added a bag of mixed veg from the produce section as well as some ginger and a pinch of 5 spice powder.... also increased the sauce since I added the veg. SO EXCEPTIONAL I shared with my friend who is Vegan. Will make again. Was skeptical about slicing the eggplant in long strips.... just DO IT … love the texture with everything else, esp if you add the extra vegetable. ENJOY.

      Reply
    20. Jessica says

      October 10, 2020 at 9:48 pm

      5 stars
      Made this tonight, and while it didn’t turn out looking anything like the one in your photos, it tasted amazing. It was every bit as good or better than take out. I used purple & white globe eggplant and soaked the strips in a saltwater bath first to help with the texture. The only thing I would change is the number of servings this makes. Maybe we are just big eaters, but this was just enough for 2 large main dish servings for us. Luckily I was only serving just the 2 of us tonight, so it worked out. :)

      Reply
    21. Julia says

      October 23, 2020 at 8:36 pm

      5 stars
      This Szechuan recipe is simple to prepare and the flavors are wonderful! I will definitely make again.
      Thank you

      Reply
    22. Greg says

      January 25, 2021 at 6:56 pm

      4 stars
      Would reduce the sugar and increase the chili paste, but otherwise was good.

      Reply
    23. Alex says

      February 24, 2021 at 7:54 pm

      Great recipe, we made it twice already this week. We added some Szechuan Peppercorns to the sauce for a nice zing.

      Reply
    24. Hazel says

      April 26, 2022 at 11:02 pm

      5 stars
      Found this recipe via Google Search and decided to try ot specifically because I had all the ingredients needed for the sauce. Oh sweet tastebuds, this was so good! I followed the recipe for the crispy tofu and used half an eggplant so I could add zucchini and bell peppers. This sauce complemented everything beautifully. It is definitely my new stir-fry go-to sauce.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Alissa! I'm a former attorney turned professional food blogger. I love creating vegan recipes with bold flavors!

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