Vietnamese Steamed Eggplant with Ginger Sauce (Cà Tím Hấp Gừng)

Vietnamese Steamed Eggplant with Ginger Sauce (Cà Tím Hấp Gừng) © kvalifood.com

Cà tím hấp gừng is steamed eggplant with a pungent ginger, garlic, and chili sauce. It is a simple and common Vietnamese home dish, eaten with rice. The sauce is sharp and savoury against the soft, mild eggplant.

Ingredients

  • 3 medium eggplants
  • 1 tbsp salt, for soaking
  • 1 tbsp vinegar, for soaking
  • 500 ml water

Ginger sauce

  • 20 g fresh ginger, peeled
  • 1 garlic clove
  • 1 chili
  • 1 tbsp honey (or sugar)
  • 1 tbsp fish sauce (or soy sauce for vegan)
  • 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  • 1 tsp neutral cooking oil
  • 20 g spring onion, finely chopped
  • 20 g saw-tooth herb (culantro, or coriander), finely chopped, optional

Directions

Prepare and steam the eggplant

  1. Wash the eggplants. Score the skin lightly all over with a knife. Soak in water with the salt and vinegar for 15 minutes.
  2. Remove the eggplants and steam or boil for 8-10 minutes until fully soft. A skewer should go through without resistance.

Make the sauce

  1. Pound or finely grind the garlic, chili, and ginger together to a rough paste.
  2. Combine the paste with the spring onion, saw-tooth herb, honey, fish sauce, oyster sauce, and oil in a small bowl. Stir well.
  3. Heat the sauce mixture in the microwave for 30 seconds on medium, or warm it briefly in a small pan.

Serve

  1. Place the steamed eggplants on a dish. Spoon the sauce over the top.
  2. Serve with steamed rice.

Notes

  • Scoring the eggplant skin before soaking and steaming helps it cook evenly and absorb the sauce.
  • For a vegan version: replace fish sauce with soy sauce and omit oyster sauce (or use vegan oyster sauce).
  • The sauce keeps well in the fridge for a few days and also works well with steamed tofu or zucchini.