Last Updated on June 3, 2023

Try this Stir-Fried Eggplant & Green Bell Pepper. This is a Chinese-inspired dish featuring vegan-friendly hoisin sauce. You too can create this delicious aromatic, sweet and savory Chinese style dish in your own kitchen!

The Hoisin Sauce

We found this jar of hoisin sauce at Whole Foods Market.

It’s Coconut Aminos Hoisin Sauce from Coconut Secret. It’s organic, gluten-free, no-GMO, no cane sugar, and of course vegan!

The word for hoisin sauce is written as 海鮮醬 in Chinese (also the same in Japanese as well.) For those you can read those characters, you may be able to tell that the word clearly states “seafood sauce” but there’s absolutely zero seafood in it!

We’re not Chinese food connoisseurs so we can only speak about what we know of. Hoisin sauce is used commonly in Chinese cuisine. It’s dark, aromatic, sweet and savory. Basically, all the flavor you need is in there which makes it easy for us to prepare a Chinese-style dish with  little to no effort!

The Eggplant

For this dish, or any other Asian dishes, we recommend using specific types of eggplant. We used these Chinese eggplants which are longer, has lighter color, firmer flesh, and tender skin. It’s perfect for stir frying!

We like cooking them separately first, set aside, then add them back into the pan when the rest of the ingredients are cooked.

How to Serve

Stir-Fried Eggplant & Green Bell Pepper tastes great by itself, but as an Asian point of view, the dish cannot be complete without a bowl of rice!

Feeling Inspired?

Check out other Chinese inspired dishes & the pizza featuring the Chinese eggplant!

Boiled Gyoza (Dumplings)

Pan-Fried Gyoza

Eggplant & Onion Pizza

Print Recipe

5 from 14 votes

Stir-Fried Eggplant & Green Bell Pepper

This is a Chinese-inspired dish featuring vegan-friendly hoisin sauce. You too can create this delicious aromatic, sweet and savory Chinese style dish in your own kitchen!

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time15 minutes mins

Total Time25 minutes mins

Course: Entree, Lunch, Dinner

Cuisine: Pan-Asian Inspired, Vegan, Chinese Inspired

Servings: 4

Author: Plant-Based Matters

Ingredients

The Sauce

• 2 tbsp hoisin sauce (we use the one from Coconut Secret)
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/2 tbsp sake

Cooking Eggplants

• 1 pound Chinese eggplants cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1/2 tsp salt

The Rest

• 1/2 tbsp sunflower oil
• 1/2 tsp red chili pepper flakes
• 1 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 1/2 cup diced green bell peppers
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp toasted sesame oil (optional)
• 1 scallion finely chopped (garnish)

Instructions

• Prepare the sauce. In a small bowl, combine hoisin sauce, water, and sake. Mix well and set aside.
• Next, cook the eggplants. Heat up a deep nonstick frying pan (or a wok) at medium high heat. When the pan is hot, pour sunflower oil then add eggplants. Season with salt and cook for about 3-4 minutes until they are tender but not mushy. Take them out and set aside.
• Use the same pan to cook the rest. Keep the heat on medium high or medium if it is too hot. Add sunflower oil then add red chili pepper flakes, garlic, and ginger. Cook for 1 minutes until aromatic. Next, add green bell pepper then season with salt. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
• Transfer the cooked eggplant back to the pan and pour the sauce mixture. Give a quick toss and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Swirl in toasted sesame oil (optional.)
• Serve with scallions on top.

Notes

• It’s best served with a bowl of rice.

Did you make this recipe?Mention @plantbased_matters or tag #plantbased_matters!