Crispy eggplant bites recipe with sweet & sour dipping sauce

Recipe image shows crispy eggplants paired with sweet & sour sauce on the side.

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Crispy eggplant bites recipe with sweet & sour dipping sauce

Crispy eggplant bites with sweet and tangy dipping sauce. Air fryer or oven baked, no deep frying needed—super crunchy outside, buttery inside, so addictive!

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Total Time45

Course: Appetizer, Side Dish

Cuisine: American Chinese

Keyword: Crispy eggplant bites, Sweet and sour eggplant bites

Servings: servings

Author: ChihYu Smith

Ingredients

Crispy eggplants:

1 lb. Chinese eggplants or Italian eggplants, 2 long ones
1 tsp coarse sea salt
2 large egg whisked
8 tbsp potato starch or tapioca starch
0.75 cup panko breadcrumbs
4 tbsp avocado oil or oil spray

Sweet and sour dipping sauce: (makes ½ cup)

3 tbsp distilled white vinegar
2 tbsp white sugar
1 tbsp ketchup for color
1 to 1.5 tbsp pineapple-mango jam or apricot jam
2 tsp light soy sauce
2 tbsp water

Instructions

Salt the eggplant:

Trim the tip ends and slice the eggplants crosswise into rounds, just over 1 inch (2.54 cm) thick.
Transfer them to a large mixing bowl, toss with salt, and set aside for 15 minutes. The eggplant will sweat slightly as it sits. The salting process is mainly to season the eggplants and also helps them absorb less oil when frying. Pat them dry over a clean kitchen towel.

Bread the eggplant:

Set up your workstation with 3 large bowls—for whisked egg, starch, and breadcrumbs.
Dip the eggplants in egg, starch, back to the egg, and with a final stop over the panko. Use your hands to gently press and pat the breadcrumbs in to help adhere. Rest over a large plate or lined sheet pan.
Repeat the process until you finish the whole batch.

Air fry:

Spray the air fryer basket with a thin layer of oil. Add the eggplants into the basket one by one with some space between them. Spray a generous amount of oil on top of each eggplant so that each piece can air fry evenly.
Air fry at 400°F (about 200°C) for 6 minutes on the first side. Open the basket, wait for 10-12 seconds to allow the hot moisture to evaporate, then carefully use a firm spatula to help you flip the eggplant.
Spray more oil on the side that’s now facing up, then air fry for 3 more minutes. The eggplants will be light golden brown after air frying. Rest them over a wired rack to prevent the bottom from turning soggy.
Repeat the process for the second batch.

Oven bake:

Preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C). Line a large sheet pan and brush it with a thin layer of oil.
Place the eggplants with some space between them and spray with more oil on top of each slice.
Bake for 12 minutes, then flip and spray more oil on the side that’s now facing up. Bake for 6 more minutes or until a light golden brown crust.
The side that’s facing down (touch the sheet pan) will get crisp up faster so flipping the eggplants will help both sides crisp up more evenly.
Rest over a cooling rack to keep the bottom crisp.

Sweet and sour dip:

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat. Stir continuously until the sugar and jam are fully dissolved.
Look for big bubbles starting to rise and the sauce turning glossy, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.
Optional. If preferred, you can pass the sauce through a fine mesh strainer to remove the pineapple jam bits.
Transfer the sauce to a dipping cup. The sauce consistency will be on a thinner side. It will thicken slightly as it cools.

Serve:

To serve, transfer the eggplants to a large serving plate. Serve with the sweet and sour dipping sauce on the side to keep the eggplants crispy. Serve warm.

Video

Notes

Salting the eggplant here is mainly to add more flavor—not to remove bitterness. Most eggplants sold today don’t have much bitterness, even though they’re available year-round. Unless you're buying eggplant seriously out of season and it looks dull or old, bitterness isn’t usually an issue. So this step is really just about enhancing the flavor.
If you can’t find Chinese eggplant, small Italian eggplant also works well. I don’t recommend using globe eggplant.
For gluten-free, use gluten-free panko or rice panko.
Air fry vs. oven-baked eggplants: In my experiment, the air fryer gives a more even golden crust, but both versions come out super crispy. The oven method works better when making a larger batch. The air fryer version is ideal for smaller portions or when appearance is more important to you. Both versions are equally delicious and crispy!
About the sweet and sour dipping sauce: If you can’t find pineapple jam, apricot jam is a great substitute. Use a 1:1 ratio.
Dipping sauce consistency: You don’t want the sauce to be too thick or gloopy—it should have a nice shine and light viscosity so it coats the fried eggplant well.
Storage and reheat: Store the eggplant and sauce separately. Line the container with a dry paper towel to absorb extra moisture. To reheat, air fry at 360°F (182°C) for 3 minutes, or bake at 400°F (204°C) for 5 minutes. They’ll crisp back up nicely.

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