Cheese

Eggplant Halloumi Stir-Fry

by:
August 13, 2021
5
4 Ratings
Eggplant Halloumi Stir-Fry
Photo by Anna Chwistek | Serving Dumplings
  • Prep time 10 minutes
  • Cook time 15 minutes
  • Serves 4
Author Notes

Chewy halloumi and creamy eggplant stir-fried in a hearty umami soy-ginger sauce.
Summer is peak eggplant season, so look for some fresh eggplants, they’ll become creamy-tender with minimal cooking. This stir-fried eggplant with basil gets a boost from the savory ginger and garlic flavors in the most mouth-watering way combined with halloumi. A dish far beyond words. And since the stir fry itself is already very flavorful, just serve it with noodles. It would definitely also be delicious with some steamed rice.

Like all stir-fry recipes, you need to be sure you have all ingredients ready in advance, before you start actually stir-frying. It’s certainly worth it, because it comes together in no-time. Each time an ingredient hits the smoking-hot wok, the scent unfolds in an intense bouquet. You just know it’s going to be good. Eggplant and halloumi form the base of this dish, but there is quite a lot going on beyond that. You get a bite of tang from the lemon juice, some heat from the cayenne pepper and fresh ginger, basil cool things down, and a touch of oyster sauce gives you just enough sweetness to balance it all out. —Anna Chwistek | Serving Dumplings

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 400 grams (14 oz) noodles
  • 225 grams (8 oz) halloumi, cut into cubes
  • 2 eggplants, cut into pieces
  • 6 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1 small onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon grated ginger
  • 1 teaspoon sesame seeds
  • 20 basil leaves
  • sauce
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 6 tablespoons soy sauce
  • 2 tablespoons oyster sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 3 tablespoons water
  • 1 tablespoon brown sugar
  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil
  • 1 teaspoon each: cayenne pepper, pepper flakes
Directions
  1. Cook the noodles according to package directions. Make sure you have all your ingredients prepared, sliced and chopped.
  2. Combine the ingredients for the sauce in a small bowl.
  3. Heat 3 tbsp oil in a wok or skillet over high heat until smoking-hot. Stir fry the eggplant, until browned and crisp-tender, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a plate.
  4. Heat the remaining oil in the same wok. Stir fry halloumi, until browned, about 2 minutes. Add garlic, onion, ginger and sesame seeds and fry, until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Return the eggplant to the wok and add the sauce. Cook, tossing often, for 1–2 minutes more. Season with salt if needed. Add the basil leaves and toss until wilted, for 30 seconds.
  5. Stir in noodles, serve immediately. Eat!
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  • Rissacqf
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  • Sebas Wesselings
    Sebas Wesselings
  • fmacmac
    fmacmac
  • Alexandra Thiel
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4 Reviews

Rissacqf
Rissacqf July 2, 2022
We really enjoyed this! I reduced the peppers to 1/4 teaspoon each because I was feeding a toddler, used fish sauce instead of oyster sauce because it was what I had on hand, and only used 4T of soy sauce (plus 2T water) because mine was not low sodium.

I used three smallish eggplant (about 2 lbs) and ended up with WAY too much- I would say 1.5 or less is probably fine. And I cut mine into spears but would do a large dice next time for even cooking. Served over brown rice!
 
Sebas W.
Sebas W. September 5, 2021
This was delicious. The peppers together might me a bit too much, I would do half a tsp each. It took the dish over too much. Other than that it was delicious!
 
fmacmac
fmacmac August 20, 2021
This was fantastic- so full of flavor. Made it with eggplant and yellow squash. The sauce is delicious- plan to use it with other stir fry recipes.
 
Alexandra T.
Alexandra T. August 18, 2021
This turned out incredible! Great balance of flavors. I was slightly worried about how the halloumi would meld into the dish but it surprised me how much it felt like it belonged in the dish. I just served it over some jasmine rice. Will be making this again!