Today’s post is a recipe for how to cook eggplant on the stove with virtually no oil. I use a highly effective, simple pan-steaming method used for Asian dumplings like gyoza! Plus, I’m sharing 8+ ways to serve this pan fried eggplant. Which one is your favourite??

How I cook eggplant on the stove with virtually no oil!

Anybody who has ever cooked eggplant knows they’re greedy oil-sucking sponges. So here’s how I cook them on the stove using very little oil – less than 1/2 teaspoon of oil for a WHOLE eggplant! 

Basically, I cook them the same way I do Asian dumplings – seared then pan-steamed. So you just need to spray the eggplant with oil before cooking in a dry pan. Works a treat, super fast, and ultra healthy.

It’s also a great method to cook thick slabs of eggplant on the stove which can be a bit tricky to do without burning the surface!

So while today’s post might seem a little out of place amongst the usual meal recipes I share, I think it’s a really useful one that will serve you well for the rest of your life.

Plus, I’m sharing a whole bunch of ways to serve this pan fried eggplant. Spend those calories you saved while cooking the eggplant on the toppings to turn it into a tasty meal!! Here’s a little preview of some of a couple: Caprese Eggplant (left) and Hainanese Eggplant (right).

Ingredients

If you give me oil, salt and pepper for free, then this is a ONE ingredient recipe – just eggplant!!

• Eggplant types – This recipe will work for large or small eggplants, including Asian eggplants. You need to cut them into rounds or lengthwise into long slabs so there is at least one cut face that sits flat on the pan, so it cooks through. For Asian eggplants, I just split them in half lengthwise.

  Thickness – Cut the eggplant up to 2 ½ cm / 1” thick. You’ll be amazed how quickly it cooks through! After searing the surface, it only takes about 2 minutes for the middle to become soft using the pan-steaming method.

• Oil spray – This is the best way to get oil coverage using very little oil. I tried to measure it out and I used less than ½ teaspoon oil across 8 slices of eggplant, spraying generously. I like using olive oil spray because it has better flavour.

  But if you don’t have or prefer not to use spray, just brush oil on. You’ll need about 2 tablespoons for 8 slices. Use any oil you want – olive oil, vegetable, canola, coconut oil, even melted butter.

• Adding other flavours – This recipe is a blank canvas you can take in many directions! Sprinkle the eggplant with a seasoning (paprika, onion and garlic is a foolproof combination) or brush with harissa paste mixed into the oil.

For today’s recipe, I’m searing the eggplants with just salt and pepper then providing a list of options for how to serve it with sauces and toppings. Just wait until you see all the possibilities!

How to cook eggplant on the stove – with very little oil!

You’ll need a large frying pan with a lid for this recipe. I use the lid of a large pot which is larger than my pan. You could also use a large baking tray or another frying pan. Anything to trap the steam in!

1. Cut the eggplant into rounds. I like thick meaty rounds about 2 cm / 0.8” thick, though this method will cook for thinner rounds too, and up to about 3 cm / 1.2”. 

   Note on thickness: This method is to cook thick slices of eggplant. If you are after thin slices, say 5mm / 0.2” thick, there’s no need to pan steam. Just spray with oil and pan sear, it will only take a couple of minutes on each side to cook through.

2. Spray the surface generously with oil, then sprinkle with salt (you can use pepper too, if you want).

3. Sear – Heat a large non-stick pan over medium high heat, with no oil. Then place the eggplant in the pan and sear until browned on both sides. This can take 1 ½ to 2 minutes, depending on how well the heat distributes in your pan and how big your burner is. Control the heat as needed for nice even browning. 

   At this stage, the eggplant will still be completely raw inside.

4. Add water – Carefully pour ¼ cup of water around the eggplant. The water will bubble up and get steamy quickly so pour slowly.

5. Pan-steam – Quickly put the lid on to trap the steam to cook the eggplant. Leave it for 2 minutes or until the water has evaporated.

6. Check to see if the eggplant is cooked by stabbing it with a butter knife (not a sharp cutting knife as it is too sharp so you can’t tell if the eggplant is fully cooked or not). It should be completely soft all the way through. If not, just add a splash of water and keep steaming. That’s the great thing about this technique, you can keep doing this multiple times until the eggplant is cooked through!

Once cooked, transfer to a serving plate! You can eat it as is – delicious, because eggplant is so ridiculously juicy inside and you seasoned it with salt and pepper. But see below for a whole bunch of other ways to serve this!

Suggestion for ways to serve pan-fried eggplant

If I want to do a little more but still keep things effortless, I just add a swish of extra virgin olive oil, sea salt flakes and a squeeze of lemon. If I’m cooking to impress, I might even sprinkle over a few parsley leaves – going all out! 😂 This is picture above. (To take it over the top, add a shower of parmesan. So good!)

But, if you want to make your eggplant-eating life even more exciting, here’s a list of suggestions. Just wait until you see the variety of possibilities!

1. Chilli crisp eggplant

The fastest way to dress up pan-fried eggplant: add a good smear of your favourite chilli crisp! (My go-to store bought Chilli Crisp is Lao Ganman “Angry Auntie” which is a worldwide favourite).

2. Caprese Eggplant

Topped with tomato, basil, crumbled goats cheese or feta with a drizzle of balsamic glaze. I especially like eating this on toast!

3. HAINANESE Eggplant

Named as such because it’s served with the Hainanese Chicken ginger shallot sauce plus a drizzle of sriracha. And it’s amazing! Ginger shallot sauce recipe here.

4. SAUCE VIERGE

Bright Mediterranean flavours in this olive-tomato-garlic-herb vinaigrette style modern French salsa-sauce that I love serving with seared tuna steak. It works so well with eggplant! Sauce Vierge recipe here.

5. DUKKAH WITH TAHINI YOGURT SAUCE

I really need to share our dukkah recipe with you! For now, use store bought.  Use the tahini sauce from this recipe.

6. WITH A MOUNTAIN OF PARMESAN BREADCRUMBS

A slather of garlic yogurt sauce and a mound of garlic parmesan panko is a ridiculously delicious combination of flavours and textures!

7. MORE IDEAS

• More toppings – chimichurri, salsa verde, pico de gallo, avocado corn salsa from this recipe

• Replace the sweet potato steak in this recipe with this pan-fried eggplant

• Replace the pumpkin in this Roasted Pumpkin with Yogurt Sauce and Pine Nuts

• Replace the zucchini in this grilled zucchini with Spicy Asian Sauce recipe

• Pile over lentils ragout, farro salad or Pearl Couscous Salad or lentil salad

And with that, I’m done. Who knew I had so much to say about pan-fried eggplant?? 

Now for the best part – getting ideas from. Share, share, share! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Almost no-oil Pan Fried Eggplant

Recipe video above. This is a recipe for how to cook eggplant on the stove with virtually no oil – less than 1/2 teaspoon for a whole eggplant! I use a highly effective, simple pan-steaming method used for Asian dumplings like gyoza!

Eat it as is, or see in post for a list of toppings and sauces to serve with this pan fried eggplant. Which one is your favourite??

Course Main, Side

Cuisine Western

Keyword how to cook eggplant, how to cook eggplant on the stove, pan fried eggplant

Prep Time 3 minutes minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes minutes

Total Time 13 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 121cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 1 large eggplant (aubergine), around 20cm/8” (~400g/14 oz) (Note 1)
• Olive oil spray (or other oil spray) (Note 2)
• 1/2 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 1/4 cup water

Sauces and toppings for serving:

• See in post for ideas and links to recipes for sauces etc!

Cups – Metric

Instructions

• Cut the eggplant into 2cm / 0.8” rounds.
• Spray each side generously with oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Brown – Heat a large non-stick pan with a lid over medium high heat, no oil. (Note 3) Add the eggplant slices and pan fry for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on each side or until you get some nice browning on it. As much or as little as you want!
• Pan steam – Carefully add water around the eggplant (it will bubble and steam, so do this carefully). Then immediately cover with a lid to trap the steam in. Steam for 2 minutes or until the water has evaporated.
• Check – Use a butter knife to check to ensure the eggplant is cooked through. If not, add a bit more water and steam again!
• Serve – Transfer to a serving plate and serve! Great as is, or to dress it up a tiny bit, add a swish of olive oil, squeeze of lemon juice and parsley leaves, or a smear of chilli crisp! See in post for more ways to serve.

Notes

1. Eggplant (aubergine) – For Asian eggplant (ie the long thin cucumber shaped ones), split in half lengthwise. Sear the cut face and the skin side. Add water and cook using this method.

Thickness of slices – This method is for thick slices of eggplant around 2 – 2.5cm / 1” thick. If you are after thin slices of eggplant ~5mm / 0.2”, there’s no need to do the steaming step. You can just pan-fry it for 2 minutes on each side.

2. Oil spray is the best for even coverage. If you prefer to brush oil on, you’ll need around 2 – 2 ½ tbsp of oil for 6 large rounds as pictured (eggplant absorbs oil so easily!).

3. Lid for pan – I just use the lid of a large pot which is actually larger than my pan but works fine to trap the steam in. You could also use a baking tray.

4. Leftovers will keep for 3 to 4 days but it does tend to get watery and mushy. Best served freshly cooked!

Nutrition for the whole recipe ie assuming it serves 1!

Nutrition

Calories: 121cal | Carbohydrates: 24g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 0.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1172mg | Potassium: 923mg | Fiber: 12g | Sugar: 14g | Vitamin A: 95IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 39mg | Iron: 1mg

Life of Dozer

For short trips, I’ll just pop him in the boot which is his preference. He likes to sprawl. But for longer distances, I always belt him up. Safety first!

The post Almost no-oil Pan Fried Eggplant appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

My favourite way to cook bok choy is with a lovely shiny, ginger sauce. Great way to load up on leafy Asian greens quickly and easily! On the table in 5 minutes, serve over fluffy rice or over noodles in soup.

My favourite bok choy recipe

I’ve shared many stir fries using bok choy but I’ve never done one where it takes centre stage. Which is a bit of an omission on my part because today’s recipe is one that I use rather frequently in my day-to-day life. It’s just a really tasty, quick way to cook up a big load of leafy Asian greens. It’s a staple vegetable dish on the menu of everyday Chinese restaurants.

Saucy is the key! That ginger sauce will make any vegetable scoff-able. The Chinese are very clever cooks!

What you need to make Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce

Here’s what you need to make this bok choy recipe.

Bok Choy (or other Asian greens!)

I’m using baby bok choy for today’s recipe but you can use almost all leafy Asian greens such as pak choy and choy sum.

Size – I like to use small(ish) bok choy if I can find it, usually labelled “baby bok choy”, because it is more tender and sweet. I classify them “baby” up to around 17cm/7″ long. The other side benefit is that you can cook the leaves whole without separating the stem from the leafy part which looks nice.

Much longer than this and you end up in a spaghetti-type situation (I see hot ginger sauce being slapped around your mouth!) unless you cut the leafy part from the stem.

Other Asian greens

The cooking method in this recipe works great for pretty much any Asian greens. You just need to tweak the steaming time to suit the one you’re using. Here are some other common Asian greens that are ideal to use for this recipe – pak choy (full size and baby!) and choy sum.

And here’s how to cut each of these types of Asian greens for this recipe. For the longer ones, just cut into pieces as long or short as you want. For smaller ones, keep the leaves whole!

Gai lan, also known as Chinese broccoli, will also work but because the stem is a little firmer (like ordinary broccoli texture), it will take a little longer to steam-cook. Though, if Gai Lan is what you have, my favourite way to cook it is with Oyster Sauce, yum cha style – stacked and doused with sauce! Recipe here.

Sauce

The sauce is a classic Chinese stir fry sauce that is nice and shiny. It’s fairly light in colour compared to other stir fry sauces which is common at Chinese restaurants. It suits vegetable dishes – we don’t want to weigh down leafy greens with overly salty, intensely flavoured sauces.

But, let me be clear, this sauce is definitely not bland!! It’s an excellent, tasty rice-soaking sauce!

• Oyster sauce – A very common Asian sauce found in the Asian aisle of grocery stores that is used liberally in Chinese, Thai and other Asian cooking. Sweet and savoury packed into one magical bottle, it’s key to this otherwise simple sauce not being bland and boring. Substitute with vegetarian oyster sauce (fairly commonly found these days) or hoisin sauce (you’ll get a hint of Chinese five spice flavour which is lovely too!)

• Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Asian sauces, adds depth of flavour. More information on it here. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic substitutes – swap both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.

• Sesame oil (toasted) – Use toasted sesame oil which is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find.

• Soy sauce – Use either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.

• Cornflour / cornstarch – Thickens the stir fry sauce and also makes it shiny! Flour, on the other hand, doesn’t make sauces shiny. Food trivia for the day!

• White pepper is the pepper of choice in most Chinese stir fry sauces as it keeps the sauce free of (unsightly!😂) black pepper speckles. But I promise switching a pinch of white pepper for black pepper will not ruin your dish!!

How to cook Bok Choy

Bok choy cooks so quickly it can be pan roasted, steamed or boiled. But my favourite way is to combine both pan-roasting and steaming. You get the lovely sautéed gingery oil coating the bok choy before steaming it in just 45 seconds in the pan. The sauce is poured in at the end and literally takes 30 seconds to thicken!

1. Sauce – Mix the cornflour/cornstarch with everything except the water until lump free, then mix in the water. Why? Because it’s easier to dissolve cornflour in less liquid. If there’s too much liquid, you end up with pesky cornflour lumps.

2. Sauté ginger in the oil for a minute to soften and also to flavour the oil. The ginger won’t cook much further once everything else is added.

   TIP: Start the ginger in a cold pan to extend the oil-infusion time!

3. Toss bok choy in the pan for about 15 seconds to coat it in the gingery oil. I recommend using 2 spatulas, one a rubber spatula so you can scoop up the little bits of ginger.

4. Water – Then pour over 1/4 cup of water. This will create the steam to cook the bok choy.

5. 45 second steam – Place the lid on then steam for just 45 seconds until the stem is partially cooked. Bok choy cooks really, really quickly! And we still have the sauce to go so we don’t want it to be fully soft at this stage.

   Doneness – The stem should still have a soft crunch to it, but not be crisp like when raw. If it’s soft all the way through, it turns into mush. Not pleasant!

6. Sauce – Give the sauce a quick stir to mix in any cornflour settled on the bottom. Then pour it over the bok choy and toss for just 30 seconds or until it changes from murky to a clear glossy sauce that thickens slightly and coats the bok choy.

   Thickness adjustment – If the sauce evaporates too quickly and gets too thick, just add a splash of water to loosen it up! This can happen if there’s too much heat in the pan or if your vegetables are a bit past their prime so don’t release much water when steaming.

   And that’s it! How quick was that? Just transfer the bok choy and every drop of that delicious sauce onto a serving plate then serve!

Serving

The obvious role for this plate of tasty vegetable goodness is as a side dish. But I exaggerate not when I say that I’ll happily have this as a meal, just by itself. Proof above. Look at that ginger-sauce-rice-soaking situation!!! Try telling me that’s not meal worthy! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce

Recipe video above. My favourite way to cook bok choy is with a lovely shiny, ginger sauce. Great way to load up on leafy Asian greens quickly and easily! Be careful not to overcook the bok choy, it cooks really fast. Pan-steam for just 45 seconds, then it finishes cooking in 30 seconds with the sauce.

Recipe also works great with other Asian Greens like pak choy, choy sum (see Note 1). Make this ginger version one day then garlic the next! Serve as a side, with fluffy rice or over noodles in soup.

Course Side Dish

Cuisine Asian, Chinese

Keyword asian greens recipe, bok choy recipe, how to cook bok choy

Prep Time 3 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes minutes

Total Time 6 minutes minutes

Servings 4 – 5 as a side

Calories 81cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 6 small bok choys , up to ~17cm/7″ long, or other Asian greens (Note 1 + photos in post)
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 cup ginger , finely julienned (or 1 tbsp garlic)
• 1/4 cup water

Sauce (Note 5 for Charlie shortcut!):

• 3 tsp cornflour/cornstarch
• 1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce , or all-purpose soy (Note 2)
• 1 tsp oyster sauce (sub vegetarian oyster sauce)
• 2 tsp Chinese cooking wine (Note 3)
• 1 tsp sesame oil , toasted
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 tsp cooking salt
• Pinch white pepper

Instructions

• Cutting – Trim the base of the bok choy then separate all the leaves. Leave the delicate baby bok choy in the centre intact, it's precious! Cut giant stems in half lengthwise so they are all roughly the same size. Rinse in colander, shake off excess water (don't need to dry fully).
• Sauce – Stir Sauce ingredients except water in a jug until cornflour is dissolved. (Easier to make lump free with less liquid). Then stir in water.
• Gingery oil – Put the ginger and oil in a large non-stick pan. Turn onto medium heat. Once the ginger starts sizzling, sauté for 1 minute until it turns light golden and is a bit floppy. Add bok choy then use 2 spatulas to toss the ginger for around 15 seconds to coat.
• Steam – Turn heat up to medium, pour water over. Cover with lid and steam for just 45 seconds.
• Sauce – Remove lid (bok choy will still be a bit underdone), pour in sauce, toss for 30 seconds until sauce changes from murky to clear, and thickens. Bok choy should be just floppy but still soft crunch, not mushy. If your sauce gets too thick (Note 4), add a tiny splash of water and mix.
• Serve – Pour the bok choy and all the sauce onto a serving plate, then eat!

Notes

1. Bok Choy & other asian greens – can use other leafy Asian greens, such as pak choy, choy sum, baby and full size. For short ones, like the pictured baby bok choy, just trim the base and separate the leaves (keep stem and leafy part attached). For long ones, cut into 7.5cm/3″ (ish) lengths (see photos in post). If the stems are really thick, cut in half. Toss the stems in first to give them a head start, then add the leafy part just at the end before adding water to steam.

Recipe will work with gai lan (Chinese broccoli) too, just get the stem going first (it’s thicker so will take longer to cook) and steam it for a little longer (around 2 minutes in total).

2. Soy sauce – Use either light or all purpose soy sauce. But not dark soy sauce – flavour is too strong and the colour is too intense! More on which soy sauce to use when here.

3. Chinese cooking wine (“Shaoxing wine”) is an essential ingredient for making truly “restaurant standard” Asian sauces, adds depth of flavour. More info on it here. Substitute with Mirin, cooking sake or dry sherry. Non alcoholic sub – sub both the cooking wine AND water with low sodium chicken broth/stock.

4. Sauce relies on some water coming out of the bok choy as it steams. If your bok choy is old and shrivelled, not enough water will come out. Easy fix – just add a tiny splash of water!

5. Charlie option – To make this using Charlie (my all-purpose stir fry sauce), mix 2 tablespoons of Charlie with 1/4 cup water. Then use as the Sauce!

6. Leftovers will keep for 2 days but the vegetables do tend to get watery/floppy.

Nutrition per serving, assuming 5 servings.

Nutrition

Calories: 81cal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.02g | Sodium: 317mg | Potassium: 278mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 4468IU | Vitamin C: 45mg | Calcium: 107mg | Iron: 1mg

Life of Dozer

Before…..

….and after he realised what it was:

The post Bok Choy in Ginger Sauce appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Sizzling Ginger Steamed Fish – named as such because the ginger and green onion topping sizzles dramatically when you pour hot oil over oven steamed fish! An incredibly simple way to make a healthy fish recipe a whole lot more exciting with fresh Asian flavours.

Sizzling Ginger Steamed Fish

Does anybody jump up and down with excitement at the thought of steamed fish for dinner? Healthy , yes. But also….kinda bland….

I know, I know, I really need to grow up. I can already see my mother rolling her eyes when she reads this. 😂

However, today’s Sizzling Ginger Fish is a steamed fish recipe I DO get excited about!

It’s a simpler version of a Cantonese dish where a whole fish is steamed, drizzled with soy sauce then hot oil is poured over a green onion and ginger topping which makes it sizzle dramatically. If you’re a whole fish kind of person (and every chef will tell you it’s the best way to cook fish) here’s my recipe, pictured below.

Traditional Cantonese whole Sizzling Ginger Fish which today’s recipe is based

Today, I’m sharing an easier version. Same flavours and the same dramatic sizzling (I was never going to give that up!). Except we’re using fish fillets and steaming them in the oven inside foil packets. Which means – less washing up. Excellent!

That dramatic hot oil sizzle!

The key step in this recipe is the hot oil drizzle. Just 1 tablespoon per fillet, and 3 important things happen:

1. the hot oil semi-cooks the green onion and ginger which also flavours the oil itself;

2. it gently sears the surface of the fish; and

3. the oil runs off the fish into the foil boat to mingle with the soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking sake and fish juices to create an extraordinarily tasty sauce.

Excessive squidging of every bite of fish in that tasty sauce is not only strongly encouraged, it’s an essential part of the eating experience!

Ingredients in Sizzling Ginger Steamed Fish

Here’s what you need to make this.

Best fish

Fish type and shape – More delicate white fish fillets, skinless. Thin fillets recommended, around 1.5cm / 2/3″ thick (at the thickest point), for better sizzling surface area to fish ratio. The recipe does work fine with thicker fillets but the bake time will be longer than the 12 minutes per the recipe.

Great fish for this recipe – barramundi, snapper, basa, jewfish, blue eye cod (trevalla), tilapia, cod, halibut, pollock, hake, John Dory, silver dory, gummy shark (flake). I think salmon and trout are a little too strong flavoured – though the recipe will work fine.

Meatier, firmer fish like ling and monkfish work fine but personally for this dish, I think it’s better with slightly softer white fish fillets (better sauce dispersion throughout flakes).

Remember, the shape of fish means that you get thick cuts from the main body as well as thin cuts from towards the tail. Opt for the thinner cuts!

Frozen fish works just fine, thaw then pat dry well before using.

Fish to avoid

I recommend avoiding:

• Fish that dry out easily when cooked – Like swordfish, tuna, bonito, kingfish, marlin, mackerel. Unless you’re extremely careful they can become dry inside so are very prone to overcooking in the oven. I feel these fish are (mostly) better in raw/rare form such as Ceviche, Poke Bowls, Tartare (also see Tuna Steak);

• Oily, “fishy” fish – Like mullet and sardines (try this recipe for sardines!).

The sizzling sauce & toppings

The sesame oil, soy and cooking sake are the seasonings. The ginger and green onion are the fresh aromatics, the red chilli is for colour and a hint of warmth (entirely optional). The oil creates the sizzle – when poured over the ginger and green onion!

• Cooking sake – This is Japanese sake intended for cooking purposes (not pleasant to drink). Like Chinese cooking wine, white and red wine used in Western cooking, it adds a touch of depth of flavour that you can really only get from alcohol.

  Find it in the Asian aisle of large grocery stores, and Asian stores. If you can’t consume alcohol, just leave it out.

• Soy sauce – Use light or all-purpose soy sauce. Do not use dark soy sauce, too intense!

• Sesame oil (toasted) – Use toasted sesame oil which is brown and has more flavour than untoasted (which is yellow). Default sesame oil sold in Australia is toasted, untoasted is harder to find.

• Peanut oil – Or any other neutral flavoured oil.

• Ginger – Fresh ginger, julienned finely (ie very fine batons) so they partially cook when the hot oil is poured over!

• Green onion – The green part only, finely sliced on the diagonal. We only use the green part because it’s more delicate so it too partially cooks when the hot oil is poured over.

• Red chilli is for visual purposes mainly and a touch of warm spice (large chillies are not that spicy). Feel free to omit.

How to make Sizzling Ginger Fish

Foil packets serve a double purpose – all the moisture is locked inside as the fish steams gently, plus minimal washing up!

1. Season fish – Place a ~25cm/10″ sheet of foil on a work surface and top with a piece of paper that is slightly smaller, as pictured. Put the fish on the paper, sprinkle each side with a pinch of salt and pepper then drizzle the top only with the cooking sake.

2. Paper packet – Wrap the fish up in the paper first, folding the seams to seal. No need to be a present-wrapping master here, just as long as it’s mostly sealed to keep in the steam!

3. Foil packet – Then wrap the paper packet up with the foil.

4. Bake – Place the foil packets on a tray and bake for 12 minutes at 200°C/400°F (180°C fan) or until the internal temperature is 55°C/130°F. I pierce thermometer through foil. If you don’t have a thermometer, just open the packet and ensure the fish flesh flakes.

   12 minutes?! Is that long enough? Yes it is, if you have a fairly thin fillet around 1.7cm / 2/3″ thick that weighs 180g/6 oz. Thin fish cooks fast when enclosed!

5. Rest 3 minutes – Remove fish from the tray and put on dinner plates. Open the packets – careful of hot steam! Scrunch/fold down the sides to form a sauce-catching moat around the fish. Leave to rest for 3 minutes while you heat the oil.

6. Heat oil – Put the oil in a small saucepan or skillet on medium high. Heat the oil up – it will take less than a minute. You don’t need it so hot the oil is smoking. Just hold your hand above the oil and you will feel the heat. Also, oil gets thinner when hot.

7. Fish toppings – Pile the green onion, ginger and chilli (if using) on each fish. Drizzle over the soy and sesame oil.

8. Sizzle! Pour the hot oil over the toppings. True to it’s name, it will bubble and sizzle dramatically! As described earlier, the oil cooks / is flavoured by the green onion and ginger and it gently sears the surface of the fish. Then when it settles in the foil boat it mixes up with the soy sauce, sesame oil, cooking sake and fish juices to form part of a tasty sauce that you squidge every bite of fish in.

   Now – time to dig in!

Matters of eating Sizzling Ginger Fish

Sizzling Ginger Fish is designed to be eaten out of the foil boat. The idea is that the foil boat holds all the sauce in, and as you break off the tender flakes of fish, you swish it around in the sauce before eating it.

Plus, if you’ve used a good juicy piece of fish, you should actually have plenty of sauce to use for dressing up a bowl of rice on the side to fill out your meal. Add a bowl of instant miso soup (THERE IS NO SHAME) and you’ve got a brilliantly effortless, healthy dinner that’s something a little bit different to the usual.

And look at that! Hardly any dishes to wash up. You kitchen goddess, you. (Or god) – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

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Sizzling ginger steamed fish

Recipe video above. Named as such because the ginger and green onion topping sizzles dramatically when you pour hot oil over oven steamed fish! An incredibly simple way to make a healthy steamed fish recipe a whole lot more exciting with fresh Asian flavours.

Squidge every bite of fish very well in the sauce before eating. The sauce is really tasty – it will surprise you.

Course Light mains, Main

Cuisine Asian

Keyword ginger fish, ginger shallot fish, steamed fish

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 15 minutes minutes

Total Time 20 minutes minutes

Servings 2

Calories 343cal

Author Nagi

Ingredients

• 2 x 180g/ 6 oz thinnish white fish fillet , skinless (~1.5 cm/ 2/3" thick) (Note 1)
• 1 tsp cooking sake (sub mirin, Chinese cooking wine, dry sherry) (Note 2)
• Small pinch salt
• Small pinch white pepper (sub black)

TOPPING (divide between 2 fish):

• 1/2 cup green onion , green part only, finely sliced on diagonal (Note 3)
• 2 tbsp ginger , finely julienned (Note 3)
• 1 tbsp large red chilli , deseeded finely julienned on diagonal, optional (Note 4)

SAUCE (divide between 2 fish):

• 2 tsp light soy sauce , or all-purpose soy (Note 5)
• 2 tsp sesame oil , toasted
• 2 tbsp peanut oil (or veg, canola, grapeseed)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 200°C/400°F (180°C fan).
• Prepare parcel – Place a 2 x 25cm / 10" piece of foil on a work surface. Top with a piece of parchment/baking paper slightly smaller. Place fish on paper.
• Season fish & wrap – Sprinkle each side of the fish with a SMALL pinch of salt and pepper. Drizzle the top of each fish with 1/2 tsp sake. Form a parcel – make a parcel with the paper first, then the foil. (See video or step photos).
• Bake – Place parcels on a tray. Bake for 12 minutes or until the internal temperature is 55°C/130°F (I pierce thermometer through foil) or the fish flesh flakes (open to check). Thin fish cooks fast when enclosed!
• Rest 3 min – Put each parcel on a plate and unwrap, folding down the sides to create a “boat” that will catch the sauce that you can squidge the fish in. Rest for 3 minutes – heat the oil while it rests.
• Heat oil until hot in a tiny saucepan or small pan over medium heat.
• Sizzle! Top the fish with green onion, ginger and chilli. Drizzle with soy and sesame oil. Pour oil all over the green onion and ginger – it will sizzle dramatically!
• Serve immediately. Eat fish out of foil, squidging the flaky pieces well in the sauce before eating. See post for what I served it with!

Notes

1. Fish – Try to use a thinnish piece of fish for a better ratio of sizzling surface area to flesh. Recipe works just fine for thick fillets too (longer bake time) but I really prefer thinner fillets.

Great fish for this recipe: barramundi, snapper, basa, jewfish, blue eye cod (trevalla), tilapia, cod, halibut, pollock, hake, John Dory, silver dory, gummy shark (flake). Think salmon and trout flavours are a little too strong – though the recipe will work fine. See Ingredients section in post for more information on fish types / what to avoid.

Remember, the shape of fish means that you get thick cuts from the main body as well as thin cuts from towards the tail. Opt for the thinner cuts!

Frozen fish works just fine, thaw then pat dry well before using.

2. Cooking sake – Get this in the Asia aisle of large grocery stores, and Asian stores. Adds a touch of extra flavour you can really only get from cooking alcohol. If you can’t consume alcohol, just leave it out.

3. Measuring – I know it’s hard to measure these by cups, they are approximations only. Better to go over rather than under – especially the ginger. Go by eye!

4. Red chilli is for visual purposes mainly and a touch of warm spice (large chillies are not that spicy). Feel free to omit.

5. Soy sauce – Do not use dark soy sauce, too intense!

Nutrition

Calories: 343cal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 35g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 7g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Cholesterol: 85mg | Sodium: 568mg | Potassium: 625mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 249IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 2mg

Life of Dozer

Dozer had a very special guest over on the weekend to make lunch for him – Andy Hearnden (“Andy Cooks”), a professional chef turned social media “mega-star” who has lots and lots of followers on social media (as in, 12 million or so across various platforms!)

I don’t ordinarily connect or network with “big” social media influencers because I’m so focussed on sharing recipes here on my website rather than worrying about social media. Can’t do it all! Andy is the first such-person whose message I have responded to. Because despite the insane social media following he has, he’s so normal, humble, down to earth and we have very similar taste in food.

We had a fun day sharing war stories of making a living in the online world, the experience of making a cookbook (he just launched his debut cookbook!) and we also filmed a video together that Dozer stars in! I look forward to sharing it with you.

The post Sizzling Ginger Steamed Fish appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.

Try this irresistible, simple recipe for stuffed eggplant: oven-roasted eggplant halves topped with Moroccan spiced lamb or beef. Low-cal, low-carb, low effort and utterly delicious!

Moroccan stuffed eggplant

You’ll often hear me declaring quite passionately that I think eggplant is one of the most underrated vegetables around. They’re cheap. They’re meaty. And they’re fabulously versatile, used in cuisines worldwide like Asian, Italian, Greek and Indian, prepared through various cooking methods including frying, steaming, roasting and simmering.

Today, we’re smearing, roasting and stuffing. Well, topping, not scooping-and-stuffing, in a manner that gives it a semi-stuffed vibe. Think of this as a mid-week take on traditional stuffed eggplant dishes you find in Arabic cuisine that involves hollowing out eggplants, stuffing with rice, meat, herbs and nuts, often baked in a tomato sauce. Sounds magnificent, doesn’t it? And it is. but there’s a lot more pots and pans involved! We’re going simple today. You can make this tonight, after work!!

Nice close up of said soft juicy eggplant!

Ingredients in Moroccan stuffed eggplant

The base flavouring for this Moroccan stuffed eggplant is a homemade Chermoula spice mix which does double duty as the spice paste for the eggplant as well as flavouring the meat filling.

Chermoula spice mix

Chermoula is a North African spice mix that traditionally is a marinade or sauce containing fresh coriander, garlic and spices. Sometimes you can also find it in a dry spice mix form. We’re using the dry blend today for our purposes.

The spices – The majority of the spices are pantry staples, but don’t make a special trip out if you’re missing one or two…or even three! There’s enough in the blend that you can substitute with something else – suggestions are in the recipe notes.

Olive oil and lemon juice – These are used to make the paste. I like to use lemon juice to add a bit of tang as well as cutting down on the oil required to make a smear-able paste.

The meat filling (lamb or beef)

Here’s what you need to make the meat filling. You can use lamb or beef, though if I had my pick I’d choose lamb as it’s a classic pairing with flavours from the Arab world.

3 teaspoons of the Chermoula spice blend is used to flavour the filling. In addition to this, we have garlic and onion for aromatics, and a little tomato paste to bind the filling together.

The eggplant

Choose eggplants around 250g/8oz and 17cm/7″ long. Don’t worry about exact size – adjust toppings accordingly. If you end up with larger eggplants, the topping layer might be slightly thinner, but the dish will still be packed with flavor.

Salt helps remove moisture from eggplants. More on this below!

Toppings

And lastly, the toppings! It really finishes this dish so I urge you to use them. The pine nuts are a great finishing touch, though other nuts will make an adequate substitute (almonds, macadamia, walnuts, or seeds).

If you’re anti-coriander/cilantro, switch with parsley!

How to make Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant

As mentioned above, I call it stuffed because describing it as a “topped” eggplant just doesn’t seem to capture the essence of this dish. 😂 But actually, it’s not properly stuffed – which means no scooping necessary, which means it’s easier to make. Win!

Sweating the eggplant (recommended)

Sweating the eggplant to remove excess water is a recommended but not essential step. It seasons the flesh as well as drawing out excess water that otherwise pools in the eggplant which dilutes flavour when you’re eating it.

But you can mostly get around this problem by simply cutting slits in the skin to let the water escape as it roasts. So don’t sweat it if you don’t have time to sweat it! *Sorry, I couldn’t resist!*

1. Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise. Keep the cap/stem intact and cut through it, it helps hold the eggplant together once roasted and soft.

2. Diamonds – Using a small sharp knife, cut 2.5cm/1″ diamonds into the flesh, cutting down as far as you are comfortable without piercing the flesh.

3. The said diamonds!

4. Salt – Sprinkle the surface with salt and rub it in. It’s good to get it into the slits but even if you just rub the surface, the salt will make it’s way into the slits.

5. Sweat for 30 minutes. I put the eggplant upside down in a colander to allow the water to drip out.

6. Squeeze like sponge to remove the excess water then pat the surface dry.

Making the “stuffed” eggplant

1. Mix the Chermoula spice blend in a bowl. Measure out 3 teaspoons and set aside for the meat.

2. Paste – Add olive oil and lemon juice into the remaining chermoula and mix to form a paste.

3. Smear the paste onto the surface of the eggplant.

4. Roast for 45 minutes at 180°C/350°F (160°C fan) or until the eggplant is softened. Sometimes it takes longer – don’t forget to check the edges.

5. Spiced meat – A quick cook! Sauté the garlic and onion, then cook the lamb with the reserved Chermoula spice blend. Finally, add the tomato paste and water to make the filling “juicy” (rather than dry and crumbly).

6. Assemble – Top the roasted eggplant with the lamb filling. Dollop on yogurt, sprinkle with pine nuts and coriander then dig in!

Matters of serving

Servings

This recipe is designed to serve:

• 2 people as a generous dinner with a small side salad;

• 4 as a meal with a starch (flatbread, couscous) and a substantial side (like Honey Cinnamon Pumpkin Lentil Salad, roast veg, chickpea salad); or

• 4 people as a generous starter.

Low carb, low calorie!

For the eggplant alone, it’s a mere 450 calories for a whole eggplant (ie 2 halves) with only 22 grams of carbs. To be honest, a serving of the eggplant alone makes for a satisfying meal – you have protein and vegetables covered! Though I do like to add something fresh on the side, even if it’s just some plain fresh cucumber and tomato.

So, it’s low calorie, low carb, simple to make and a something different to make with beef mince rather than the usual Spag Bol. What do you think?? Feel like giving this a go? I HOPE SO! – Nagi x

Watch how to make it

Print

Easy Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant (beef or lamb)

Recipe video above. A delicious, unique, EASY way to serve up eggplant and minced / ground beef or lamb! Think of this as a midweek take on traditional Arabic stuffed eggplant that's usually hollowed out.

Don't worry if you don't have every single spice. There's so many in this spice mix, it will still be tasty even if you're missing one…or two, even three!

Serves 2 as a main with a small side salad, or 4 as a meal with a starch (flatbread, couscous) and a substantial side (like this Pumpkin Salad, roast veg, chickpea salad), or 4 as a generous starter.

Course Dinner

Cuisine Middle Eastern

Keyword Ground beef recipe, lamb mince recipe, roasted eggplant, stuffed eggplant

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Eggplant sweating 30 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 2 – 4

Calories 450cal

Author Nagi | RecipeTin Eats

Ingredients

Eggplant

• 2 x 250g/8oz eggplants (aubergines), ~17cm/7" long (Note 1)
• 3/4 tsp cooking salt / kosher salt
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (or more oil)

Chermoula spice mix (Note 2)

• 1 1/2 tsp EACH coriander, paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 3/4 tsp all spice powder
• 1/2 tsp EACH garlic powder, ginger, turmeric powder
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

Spiced beef or Lamb topping

• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 garlic clove , finely minced
• 1/2 onion , finely chopped
• 250g / 8oz beef or lamb mince , lean if you can (chicken, turkey, pork also ok)
• 1/2 tsp cooking/kosher salt
• 2 tsp tomato paste (Note 3)
• 1/4 cup water

To Serve

• Yoghurt , plain
• 2 tbsp coriander/cilantro leaves , roughly chopped (sub parsley)
• 2 tbsp pinenuts , toasted (Note 4)

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 180°C/350°F (160°C fan).
• Sweat eggplants (recommended, see Note 5 to skip) – Cut eggplants in half then score with 2.5cm / 1" diamonds. Rub surface with salt, getting some into the slits. Place face down in a colander and set aside for 30 minutes. Gently squeeze like a sponge to remove excess water, pat surface dry.
• Mix Chermoula spice mix ingredients in a bowl. Remove 3 teaspoons for the meat and set aside. Add olive oil and lemon juice into the remaining spice mix and mix into a paste.
• Roast eggplant – Place eggplant on baking tray. Slather spice mix onto the surface. Roast for 45 minutes until softened.
• Spiced topping – Heat oil in a non stick skillet over medium high heat. Cook onion and garlic for 1 minute. Turn heat up to high, add lamb/beef and cook, breaking it up as you go, until you no longer see red. Add reserved spices and salt, then cook for a further 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute. Stir in water, cook for 1 minute until it's juicy but not watery.
• Assemble – Top eggplant with beef/lamb. Sprinkle over coriander, dollop with yogurt and pine nuts. Finish with an extra drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, if desired!

Notes

1. Eggplant/aubergine – Don’t get too hung up on eggplant size. I always provide weight and measurement because they vary so much in size – what is a “medium eggplant”??! If you have giant ones, you’ll just have a thinner layer of topping (there’s enough flavour in this dish you won’t feel robbed). If you have tiny ones, pile it on higher or reserve leftover meat for another purpose. 

2. Spice subs – With so many in this spice mix, it’s fine if you’re missing one…or even three! Just dial up some of the others to make up for flavour. Specific subs:

• All spice – mixed spice
• Garlic powder – onion powder, or fresh garlic
• Ginger – more garlic
• Turmeric powder – saffron
• Cinnamon – more all spice

3. Tomato paste – or sub water + paste with 1/4 cup crushed tomato or passata. I offer this as a suggestion as I always seem to have a partial bottle of passata in the fridge!

4. Toasting pinenuts – Small skillet, no oil, medium heat, toss until golden and smells toasty. Remove from pan straight away.

5. Eggplant sweating – Draws out excess water so you don’t end up with water in the eggplant halves that dilutes eating flavour. Removing bitterness from eggplant – generally speaking, this has been bred out of eggplants sold these days. I’ve never had a problem.

Don’t have time to sweat? Just cut 2 x 3cm/1″ slits in the skin so the water escapes while roasting. Also, expect to add 5 to 10 min to roasting time.

6. Yogurt tip – To make the yoghurt even tastier, mix 1/4 cup of yoghurt with 1/2 garlic clove, minced, a small squeeze of lemon, salt and pepper. Set aside for 30 minutes to let the flavours develop. I do this for company.

Make ahead – Roast the eggplant and meat filling. Fully cool both, uncovered, then put into containers in the fridge. Re-warm both using method of choice (juice up the meat with a splash of water if needed) then assemble!

Leftovers will keep for 3 days in the fridge. Not convinced cooked eggplant will freeze well but the meat will be fine for 3 months!

Nutrition per serving, using lean beef – 2 eggplant halves (i.e. one whole eggplant) per serving. This is a satisfying meal even by itself!

Nutrition

Serving: 536g | Calories: 450cal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 32g | Fat: 28g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 15g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 78mg | Sodium: 1594mg | Potassium: 1206mg | Fiber: 9g | Sugar: 11g | Vitamin A: 297IU | Vitamin C: 13mg | Calcium: 61mg | Iron: 5mg

Originally published in March 2016. Majority spruced up in 2023 with a better, more streamlined recipe with better flavour, sparkling new photos and a brand new recipe video!

Proof of eggplant fondness

Oven Roasted Eggplant (aubergine)

Lentil and Roasted Eggplant Salad

Eggplant Curry – South Indian Brinjal Curry

Pasta alla norma (Eggplant pasta)

Crispy Chinese Eggplant

Moussaka (Greek Beef and Eggplant Lasagna)

Miso-Glazed Eggplant

Life of Dozer

Can’t even whiteboard recipe ideas without Mr D hovering around.

The post Easy Moroccan Stuffed Eggplant (beef or lamb) appeared first on RecipeTin Eats.