# What do you usually cook with eggplant?



## EvillyChic (May 5, 2012)

Hi,


I love cooking with eggplant. Today,  I want to share of my completely irresistible “signature” dishes of eggplant. Hope you guys enjoy!


*Ingredients* (Serving 3)



2 medium size eggplants (about 500g)
300g pork (cut of your choice, recommended with medium high fat ratio)
100g apple snail meat (Optional, it is not poisonous and delicious  in my opinion but if you are not used to eating seafood, simply leave it  out, since it has distinct taste and smell, and sometimes weird  reaction with your stomach. Warning: consume with caution)
200g firm tofu
2 medium size tomatoes
3 cloves of garlic
½ bulb of onion
5 shiso leaves (Encouraged, it does create a distinct smell for this  dish, but if you cannot find it, just take it easy. Both green and  purple is acceptable.)
Some spring onion for garnish (optional)
Condiments
2 tsp. salt
1 ½ tbsp. sugar
3 tbsp. fish sauce (More or less to your own taste)
1 tsp. ground black pepper
 ½ tsp. turmeric powder (Please take some time to look for these in Asian markets, it’s the specialty of this dish)
 
 *Instructions*

Preparations

*Step 1:* Cut the pork into bite size. Marinate them  with 1 tsp. of salt, 1 tsp. grounded black pepper, ½ tbsp. sugar, and 1  tbsp. of fish sauce.

 Marinate the apple snail meat with ½ tsp. of turmeric powder and ½ tsp. of salt.

*Step 2:* Cut the eggplant into bite size. Submerge them into light salty water to prevent them from  being oxidized and browning up.

*Step 3:* Crush and chop the garlic finely. Slice onion into thin rings. Slice the tomatoes. Picture shows below.

*Step 4:* Slice tofu into cubes like this. Fried them  in preheated pan with canola oil until both sides are golden. Get them  out, and leave cool on the counter.

Real cooking

*Step 5:* Start cooking this dish by adding about 2  tbsp. of oil into a preheating pot of at least 2 liters. Add the  prepared garlic and onion, stir constantly on medium high heat until  they start to be aromatic, about 4 minutes.

*Step 6:* Add the marinated pork in, stir well for 2 minutes.

*Step 7:* Add the marinated snail meat, stir well for another minute.

*Step 8:* Strain the sliced eggplant. Put them all  into the pot. At first, it will look like the pot is so full, like this.  Give it some stir and then cover the pot with its lit. Keep the heat to  medium high. Don’t worry, It won’t burn out. Raw eggplant is filled  with water, by heating them up on high heat with lit covered, you are  giving a chance for water to come out of the eggplant, reducing its  volume visibly.







 Here is my pot after 10 minutes. The volume decreases to sufficient level, and there is lots of stock water in the pot.







*Step 9:* Add the sliced tomatoes and fried tofu into  the pot. Stir well but gently, you don’t want to smash the delicate  soften eggplant in your pot right now. Now keep the lit away from the  pot. Let it cooked on medium high heat and evaporate some of the stock  water, for approximately 20 minutes.







*Step 10:* Now you can see that the water level in the  pot has been reduced like in this picture, simply taste it and adjust  the savor to your own taste. In my pot, I add 1 tsp. salt, 1tbsp. sugar,  and 2 tbsp. fish sauce.


*Step 11:* Chop shiso leaves into very fine strip. Chop the scallion. Add them into the pot, and stir well. Take the pot off the heat.


*Step 12:* Scoop them onto a serving plate together with warm cooked rice. 









 Enjoy!


What about you? what is your favorite way to cook eggplant?


Rose,


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## Whiskadoodle (May 5, 2012)

Your recipe looks interesting. I don't use tofu and no snails for me,   

I have made a dip or spread for pita toasts that has eggplant, kalamata olives, garlic, tomato, onion, herbs, more. I think it's called Caponata. Maybe a different word. After you cook the eggplant and dont' peel it, and blend the ingredients in a food processor it gets a dark rich color. 

In the summer, when many vegetables are available at the farmer's market, I make ratatouille.


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## radhuni (May 5, 2012)

We make a special dish with eggplant in this time of the year (summer). The dish is prepared with 'neem' leaves and fried eggplants. it is very bitter in taste but very good for preventing dermal infections and it increase overall immunity. Our summer is very hot and humid tropical summer and very favourable for germs and parasites. So this dish is generally a must dish in summer. 

Here is the recipe

Ingredients:


250 gm small  brinjals
A cup of fresh  neem leaves     (washed)
1-2 dried  red chili
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
Salt to taste
3-4 tablespoon  mustard oil
 Preparation:


Cut the brinjals in medium cubes, wash and keep aside.
Heat 2 tablespoon of oil and shallow fry the neem leaves and keep aside.
Heat the oil in a pan, sauté the red chili and fry until the chili becomes black.
Add brinjal's cubes, turmeric powder, salt and cook for 5-6 min in a medium flame with cover.
When brinjals becomes half cooked, add pre-fried neem leaves and mix it well.
Cook it for 4-5 min again.


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## taxlady (May 6, 2012)

I'm not a big fan of eggplant, but I like it (chopped very small) in moussaka and I really like babaganoush.


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## Souvlaki (May 6, 2012)

I am going to cook this recipe for sure, I love eggplants and Greeks cook them in so many ways... 
they grill them, prepare dips, salads, stews and bake them stufeed with ground meat and beshamel sauce on the top the famous 'papoutsakia' or stuffed shoes. 
They use eggplant to assemle moussaka. 
my best and most favorite recipe is eggplant dip with wallnuts, i also have it in my site. 

INGREDIENTS:

2 eggplants (take 3 if eggplants are smaller, they should weight at least 500 grams together)

1 clove garlic

1/2 cup walnuts (keep 2 or 3 for decorating)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup olive oil

5 tablespoons red or white wine vinegar

If you are going to bake the eggplants preheat the oven on 200 degrees Celsius. Take a fork and prick their skin a few times. Then when eggplants are baked put them in a plastic bag close it and leave them until they get cold. Then pill their skin off.

If you prefer more taste and the scent of the grilled vegetables in your sauce grill the eggplants or more simple do what I did: prick the eggplants and fold them in a kitchen foil. Set the top of the stove on medium heat and grill the eggplants until they are soft when you press with your finger. Make sure you turn them around so they will be grilled on each side. Then just take them off the stove put them on a plate and open the kitchen foil when eggplants are cold. Pill their skin off.

Put the eggplants in a food processor together with all the above mentioned ingredients. Pulse it to make it creamy. Taste for salt and vinegar. Add some if you think it is needed.

Serve in a bowl. Put several whole walnuts on the top pour some oil olive and enjoy it with your dish or simply spread some of this dip on a grilled peace of bread. Enjoy!


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## Harry Cobean (May 6, 2012)

taxlady said:


> I'm not a big fan of eggplant, but I like it (chopped very small) in moussaka and I really like babaganoush.


with you on the baba ganoush tax,one of the many reasons i love to holiday on the red sea(the egyptians do a mean baba!),i go right up north on the sinai,right on the border with israel:


                             1  large                                                                                                                           eggplant
                             1/4 cup                                                                                                                           tahini, plus more as needed
                             3                                                                                                                             garlic cloves, minced
                             1/4 cup                                                                                                                           fresh lemon juice, plus more as needed
                             1  pinch                                                                                                                           ground cumin
 salt, to taste
                             1  tablespoon                                                                                                                           extra virgin olive oil
                             1  tablespoon                                                            chopped                                                               fresh flat-leaf parsley
                             1/4 cup                                                                                          brine-cured black olives, such as kalamata
 *Directions:*



Prepare a medium-hot fire in a charcoal grill.
Preheat an oven to 375°F.
Prick the eggplant with a fork in several places and place on the grill rack 4 to 5 inches from the fire.
Grill, turning frequently, until the skin blackens and blisters and the flesh just begins to feel soft, 10 to 15 minutes.
Transfer the eggplant to a baking sheet and bake until very soft, 15 to 20 minutes.
Remove from the oven, let cool slightly, and peel off and discard the skin.
Place the eggplant flesh in a bowl.
Using a fork, mash the eggplant to a paste.
Add the 1/4 cup tahini, the garlic, the 1/4 cup lemon juice and the cumin and mix well.
Season with salt, then taste and add more tahini and/or lemon juice, if needed.
Transfer the mixture to a serving bowl and spread with the back of a spoon to form a shallow well.
Drizzle the olive oil over the top and sprinkle with the parsley.
Place the olives around the sides.
Serve at room temperature.
as a jamie oliver fan & a fellow chilli addict i would also add some crushed chilli flakes-chipotle works well with the overall smokiness of the dish.don't waste your time with the charcoal,wack the eggplant under the grill or over a gas burner


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## Margi Cintrano (May 6, 2012)

*Former Post: How do you eggplant/aubergine ?*

Good Morning,

Firstly, my favourite vegetable is eggplant / aubergine and thus, I had begun a post quite a few months ago, in the Vegetable Section called: How do you Eggplant ? 

Here are some of my Mediterranean Suggestions:

1. Melanzane di Lecce : the use of sautèed eggplant to perform the function of lasagne sheets, with filling of home made Ricotta ( in Cheese Section is recipe for home made Ricotta ) and layered as lasagne with a topping of Besciamella ( bechamel ).

2. Melanzane al Parmigiano : eggplant sautèed and then baked in oven with buffala di mozzarella & Pecorino or Parmesano or Besciamella topping 

3. *** Babaghanuj with Tahine: a Mid Eastern eggplant and tahine mousse similar to Hummus however, with eggplant. ( also posted by me in Ethnic Section if memory serves me correctly )

4. Caponata : a Sicilian eggplant, caper, olive coarse dip to be used with Focaccia in an antipasti platter or as an appetiser.

5. Sautèed / lightly fried rounds or slices in extra virgin olive oil ( Evoo ) and served as an appetiser 

6. Pistou or Ratatouille or The Spanish similarity, called Pisto Manchego, which is a coarse vegetable Coulis, consisting of tomato, eggplant, zucchini, garlic, onion, red bell pepper, green & gold bell pepper and fresh herbs. Most countries in the Mediterranean have their own versions. 

Thanks for posting your recipe, however, though I am sure it is quite tasty, I Cannot Use Soy in any form. 

Have a nice wkend. 
M.C.


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## Margi Cintrano (May 6, 2012)

Tax Lady,

I believe the correct spelling is: Ba ba gha nuj 

When we were visiting the Pyramids, in Egpyt ( Cairo, Alexandria and Luxor ) before the overthrowing of the former President; I had babaghanuj to die for ... This is how the Egyptians spell it. 

In Morocco, they call it: Mu ta bal 

I love babaghanuj ... I make it all the time as well as Hummus ...

Margi.


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## Harry Cobean (May 6, 2012)

*Red sea*

a few more good reasons why i love the red sea:
JPE DOES EGYPT pictures by Hvar2010 - Photobucket
i took these snaps when i was there in november so the temp range of 23-30C(72-85F) was very welcome as it was -2C in manchester when i flew out! i like to go in either may or september(or both if i've sold enough houses!) when the temp is 35-42C....perfect.always stay at the hyatt regency(that's where the pics were taken)....fab hotel!
harry


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## Claire (May 6, 2012)

One of my favorites is what my mom calls "Claire's Ratatouille".  When I'm cooking anything over coals, I take zucchini, eggplant, onions.  I slice the vegs thickly, and toss in a bowl with olive oil and seasonings.  Then I grill on the side while the meat is cooking.  I then chop coarsely with a fresh tomato (or halved cherry tomatoes, which have more flavor this time of year) and whatever fresh herbs happen to be around.  We eat it as a side that evening for supper, but it is at its best the following couple of days with pasta, a topping for a baked potato, etc.  If there's any left over (I make lots!), I freeze it, then at a later date, I toss it into a pot with beans.  No one would ever guess that I actually did not put a ham bone in the pot, because that charcoal-grilled flavor is in there.


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## CraigC (May 6, 2012)

I like eggplant in many dishes, but one of my favorites is a "pirogue" filled with crawfish etouffee.


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## taxlady (May 6, 2012)

Actually, the correct spelling of baba ganoush is بابا غنوج

It gets transliterated differently in different places.


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## Addie (May 6, 2012)

taxlady said:


> Actually, the correct spelling of baba ganoush is بابا غنوج
> 
> It gets transliterated differently in different places.




Thanks for the translation. I wouldn't have known otherwise!


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## Addie (May 6, 2012)

Harry, those pics are beautiful. I always think of the MidEast as just being a hot sandy desert. Even though I know better. My sister on one of her many travels went to Eygypt and was entranced with it for the rest of her life.


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## Addie (May 6, 2012)

I like Eggplant Parm. Served with just a salad. I like it as a main dish, in a sub sandwich, or any other way. Cold or hot. I always order it anytime I am in an Italian restaurant. The recipe is so basic, that the only thing that can screw it up is a bad marinara sauce. Eggplant is my ultimate favorite veggie.


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## Harry Cobean (May 6, 2012)

Addie said:


> Harry, those pics are beautiful. I always think of the MidEast as just being a hot sandy desert. Even though I know better. My sister on one of her many travels went to Eygypt and was entranced with it for the rest of her life.


thanks addie,it's a mystical place too,at night you can see a million stars & the air is so still & clear that they don't even twinkle.when the sun sets the sinai mountains glow pink like coral,maybe that's why they call it the red sea?.
harry


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## kadesma (May 6, 2012)

Eggplant, I love eggplant parm, an eggplant sandwich, eggplant caviar, name it I'll eat it. I don't order it often in restaurants I find that if a red gravy is involved and it's not a dark brown  marinara it  is so tart it leaves me cold. 
kades


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## Bacardi1 (May 6, 2012)

I enjoy eggplant (especially those I grow myself) in Caponata, in Eggplant Parmagian, in different pasta dishes (baked with smoked mozzarella, in caponata-type sauces), & particularly in Szechuan stir-fry dishes.


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