Eggplant is my all-time favorite vegetable. There are
variety of ways to cook them. You could make smoked eggplant salad, fried eggplant, eggplant gravy, mashed eggplant curry (North Indian Baigan Bartha) and this one is
Chinese style. Even though I’ve tried similar style eggplant in Singapore Chinese
vegetarian restaurant; I never bothered to try it at home.
First cut eggplant into thin long strips then into cube size pieces.
Add plenty of salt,
mix well; set it aside in a colander for minimum of 30 minutes. You’ll see
water dripping from eggplant during this time.
Wash eggplant and pat them dry, using kitchen towel.
But once I saw it demonstrated by Kylie kwong in Masterchef Australia, I immediately noted it down and tried it no sooner I got
all the ingredients. We can call it Ami’s twisted version, because I made small
modifications in steps as well as ingredients. My DH’s reaction to this dish is
“Superb”. Eggplant’s taste is relatively bland that’s why it easily blends with
any type to spices or gravy. Fried eggplant has a mild sweetness and when it is
mixed with a spicy hot and sour sauce, eggplant absorbs and blends well with
this aromatic tangy sauce. It’s a “must try” for all eggplant lovers like me.
How often do you get inspired by cooking shows? I
always do. Some of my favorite chefs on TV are Michael Smith, Jamie Oliver,
Chef Wan (Malaysian), Anna Olson, Nigella Lawson and Laura Calder. These are
some of the other celebrity chef inspired recipe creations in my kitchen.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
2 Large Eggplants
Salt to taste
100ml vegetable oil
1 Tbsp chili flakes
2 tbsp Soy sauce
1 tbsp white vinegar
To make the sauce
Handful of coriander leaves
5 fresh red chilies
1 Onion
3 garlic cloves
1 large tomato
Blend all of the
above ingredients using food processor
Method
First cut eggplant into thin long strips then into cube size pieces.
Wash eggplant and pat them dry, using kitchen towel.
Heat oil in a large non-stick pan and once oil hits
smoking point, add eggplant and fry till they are golden brown. Drain eggplant
using slotted spoon, set them aside to dry in kitchen towel.
To prepare the sauce, heat remaining oil and fry
blended raw ingredients till you get the aroma, and raw smell evaporates. Add
soy sauce, chili flakes and vinegar and mix well to create sauce. Turn off the
heat and add fried eggplant to this sauce and mix well.
I served it with rice, next time with pittu (Sri Lankan
handmade couscous made with red rice flour). You can also serve it with bread, noodles,
wrap or roti.
Photography
Check some of my clicks in Singapore. It’s new sky line and Sentosa island.
Singapore is the most Veg friendly city in Southeast Asia.
