Cooking: Eggplant Thing

Eggplant Thing, originally uploaded by miz_ginevra.


Originally a recipe that started as thai fried eggplant with basil, eggplant thing has come into being along with my CSA box this summer, and a gifted basil plant. Thai basil is better, but usually means a trip to the Sunset. The concept of cooking from the CSA box - especially this summer, when the produce is suffering from a lack of water here in California (and the east coast has the inverse problem) is more of a philosophy of OMG QUICK EAT IT BEFORE IT ROTS. I'm serious, my CSA tomatoes rot within two days of delivery. It's depressing, since I love tomatoes like it ain't no joke.

Moving along!

Eggplant Thing is meant to have a savory-sweet asian flavor, but I bet if you wanted to Italian-i-fy it with tomatoes and oregano, you could.


Eggplant Thing

veggies:
eggplants - chinese work best, chopped into 1-inch cubes
peppers - I've been using the red peppers from my CSA box, and red give the best color
onion - 1 medium, julienne
basil - as much as you like

sauce:
shoyu/soy sauce
sugar
rice wine vinegar
fish sauce (not too much, it's fishy)
red pepper flakes or diced thai chilis, to taste
hot water
if you're going for a thicker sauce, cornstarch


fry eggplant at high heat, put aside in its own bowl. I like to get at least one side super-toasty-brown, so I use a cast iron pan with just a wee bit of oil. Fry onions the same way (you can use water to sort of steam/deglaze to cut down on oil, a trick I learned from ChezBeau) and add peppers. When everything gets all tasty-looking, add back in the eggplant and the sauce. Stir in sauce, let cook for ~5 minutes.

You can fry the chilis first in the oil, for the spicy-spicy goodness.

You could also add in other veggies to taste, whatever you're trying to use up - squash would be good, as would zukes.

For Italian-i-fying, I'd sub the sauce with something like arrabiata (red pepper flakes, capers, tomato, parsley/oregano) and lots of cracked black pepper, instead of the umami of soy/fish sauce.

I just wanted to say the word "umami".

sidenote: some guidance on picking the best eggplants.