Exploring with Eggplant

[netmouse]

I have just recently been learning that I really like eggplant in Indian and Thai food. I am planning to xplore doing some of that kind of cooking, though I'm not very familiar with those cuisines or their ingredients. In looking at recipes just now, I also found out there are different kinds of eggplant and am wondering where to get the different kinds.

Do you have any favorite non-western eggplant recipes? If so, please share!

Comments

[shekkara.livejournal.com]

Sichuan eggplant and ground pork dishes.

You can find Asian eggplants at the Farmer's market and at many large grocery stores and at Asian grocery stores. They are long and thin like cucumbers, and they don't have the bitterness of Western eggplants.

[howardtayler.livejournal.com]

Be aware that eggplant is a very thirsty vegetable. If you stir-fry it, do it HOT, or it'll drink all your oil and you'll be serving greasy sponge-chunks to your guests.

[mrissa.livejournal.com]

I wish I had the recipe for it! There's a San Francisco Chinese restaurant called House of Nanking (on about Jackson and Kearny, for anyone reading this and going to SF soon), and they do amazing things with eggplant when it's in good season. They serve it with whitefish, or on a bed of garlic and sauteed pea shoots with slices of yam, and the sauce, oooooh, the sauce. It was one of the outstanding successes of not ordering, just letting them bring us food, because I never would have said, "Yes, eggplant is what I need, possibly with whitefish," and yet it's so amazing that way.

Want some now. Sigh.

Eggplant

[minnehaha.livejournal.com]

We had a great Thai eggplant dish at a restaurant last night. I don't remember much about it, though.

B

[shadowriderhope.livejournal.com]

Madhur Jaffrey has many tasty eggplant (or 'aubergine,' as British tend to call them) recipes in her cookbooks - I'd be happy to lend you mine. :)

[jebra.livejournal.com]

Baba ghanouj -- it's quite possibly the only way I enjoy eggplant. The nice folks at La Shish were kind enough to share this:

La Shish Baba Ghanouj

    4 pounds fresh eggplants
    1/3 cup tahini (see note)
    1 fat clove garlic
    1 1/4 teaspoons salt
    1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
    1/4 cup plain yogurt

    Preheat oven to 500 degrees, or prepare hot fire in
outside barbecue.  Slit each eggplant with a knife to
keep from bursting. Place on foil-lined pan, if cooking
in oven, and roast for 30 minutes or until eggplants are
well-cooked. (Cook for about 20 minutes if using outdoor
grill.)

    Cool, peel and dice eggplants. Mash with a soup spoon and
place in refrigerator for about a half-hour.

    Beat in tahini, using a sturdy spoon, for a good minute or
two. Mash garlic with salt and stir into lemon juice. Add to
eggplant mixture. Stir in yogurt, beating well. Spread on a
large platter and garnish with paprika and parsley.  Serves 6
to 8.

    Note: Tahini is a thick syrup made of crushed sesame
seeds. If too thick, thin with a little cold water. It can
be purchased at Middle Eastern food stores and some import
sections of supermarkets.

    Note: Analysis based on 6 servings.

    Per serving: 166 calories; 7.6 g fat (1.2 g saturated
fat; 41 percent calories from fat); 1 mg cholesterol; 461 mg
sodium; 22.9 mg carbohydrates.

Re: Eggplant

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

Thanks! I eventually went with this recipe for

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Thanks! I eventually went with this recipe for <a href-"http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Basil_Eggplant.htm">Basil Eggplant</a> that I found through the link you provided. Our review was that it was really tasty but would be better, for our palette, with only one chili pepper, not two.

[netmouse.livejournal.com]

cool. that'd be fine to check out. thanks!

[foms.livejournal.com]

For the famous story. The recipe looks interesting, too.
http://recipes.epicurean.com/recipe/2241/imam-bayildi.html

[foms.livejournal.com]

Chinese eggplant with shrimp and black bean sauce.
http://www.jupiterimages.com/popup2.aspx?navigationSubType=itemdetails&itemID=23233133

Something along these lines: http://www.grouprecipes.com/19558/eggplant-and-peppers-in-black-bean-garlic-sauce.html
I wouldn't bother with the sugar and tend to use more black bean sauce and less other liquid. You can also get little, teeny cans of black beans to add. Oh, and shrimp.

Does moussaka count?