Stir-Fried Eggplant with Garlic and Basil Sauce

This is actually a re-post from something I posted earlier. I hadn't made it since that last post, and remembered it as, well, life-changing. And it's still delicious, but I did learn that if you don't have all the ingredients, the overall taste is diminished accordingly. This go-round, I did not have the fish sauce I needed, and the overall dish suffered. Still, I think it's worth a re-post.

Stir-Fried Eggplant with Garlic and Basil Sauce
Cook's Illustrated, May 2002

Thai Sauce Base:
3 T asian fish sauce
1 T lime juice (1 lime)
1 tsp lime zest (1 lime)
1 T brown sugar
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Eggplant:
1 T + 1 tsp peanut oil
1 lb eggplant, cut into 3/4" cubes (6-7 cups)
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 3/4" pice ginger, minced (1 T)
2 scallion, sliced thin
1/2 c basil, torn into 1/2" pieces

Begin by preparing the sauce base. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl or, simpler yet, in a Mason jar. Shake or whisk together until sugar is dissolved. Set aside.

Heat 1 T oil in a 12" nonstick skillet over high heat until simmering. Add eggplant and cook, stirring frequently, until browned and tender, 5-7 minutes.

Push eggplant to the sides of the skillet, clearing the center of the pan. Add remaining tsp oil, garlic and ginger to center of pan and quickly fry. Stir gently to combine and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute.

Add the sauce mixture and stir until combined. Add scallions and basil and quickly stir to combine. Serve over jasmine rice.