This spicy stir-fried eggplant is healthy and flavorful

Chef Nick Rabar from Avenue N shares his recipe for a healthy and flavorful lunch featuring one of his favorite vegetables – and it just so happens to be fully vegan.

This spicy stir-fried eggplant is flavored with aromatics such as garlic, ginger and scallions and covered in a vinaigrette-like sauce made from rice vinegar and sambul, a mixture of chili and garlic with a touch of sweetness and acidity.

“Eggplant is an ingredient that’s near and dear to my heart,” Rabar said. “I was raised on eggplant. I love it. It’s a little bit of an outcast vegetable. People aren’t quite sure where it fits in the hierarchy, the pyramid of vegetables, but it’s extremely good for you. It’s extremely rich in antioxidants and fiber and vitamin B.”

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Rabar notes that you must use a generous amount of oil when stir-frying eggplant.

“When you saute eggplant, you put in a bunch of oil, and the eggplant just bops around like dice. You don’t see any oil because it just keeps sucking it up,” he said. “And then it releases the oil again. Eggplant has got a real earthy, mild bitter flavor to it, so you have to manipulate that and sweeten it.”

To put your own spin on Rabar’s recipe, you can add honey for extra sweetness, sesame oil for extra flavor or black beans for extra protein. He recommends serving the stir-fried eggplant over rice.