1) Rinse the eggplant and pat it dry with some kitchen paper. Remove the green leaves also. Then chop the eggplant in half and slice both pieces up into thick sticks.

2) Next step depends on how you steam your dishes in your kitchen. Because I have a steam oven I placed the sliced eggplant in a steam basket and then steamed it for about 20 minutes until soft. Same for a steamer or steam baskets.

3) You can also create one using a pasta pan. Pour a bit of water in the pan and place the pasta basket in it. Make sure that the water doesn’t reach the basket. Then place the sliced eggplant in it and cover the pan.

4) Place the eggplant over medium heat and boil the water for about 20 minutes until the eggplant is soft. Check regularly if you need to add extra water. The eggplant should be very soft in the end.

5) In the meantime combine the sesame oil, dark soy sauce, fish sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar and chili sauce in a cup and stir well.

6) Once the eggplant is steamed, then remove the pan from the heat and transfer the cooked eggplant to a serving dish. Drizzle with the soy sauce marinade. Sprinkle with the freely chopped chives and the fried garlic. Serve hot.