--Eggplant. Now what?!

[Palanan]

Last week I discovered that my favorite Thai restaurant makes a mean Drunken Noodles with eggplant. Since then I've been pondering the possibility of having a personal Eggplant Renaissance.

However, I have absolutely no idea what to do with one. I've learned that Joe Eggplant can be fairly cheap; that Graffiti and Japanese eggplants are compact and expensive; and that more than one grocery store lists them as "Produce of USA," despite the fine print on the sticker advertising that they come from Mexico.

Sourcing aside, what does one do with an eggplant? What, how, where, why? Tell me, Playground, how you cook your eggplant!

[Sallera]

Slice, dry cook in a pan for a little while on both sides (this might not work as well with the fat eggplants, I've only tried it with Japanese ones), add to soup of your choice. With smaller slices, they'd probably be a good addition to the less saucy Italian pastas (tomatoes, mushrooms, olive oil, herbs, other vegetables to taste). They also make excellent tempura.

[TheThan]

Grilled eggplant
step one: slice in half
step two: dry.
step three: season with salt and pepper
step four: grill until slightly soft, serve with other grilled vegetables.

eggplant kabobs
step one: peal, cut into about 1/2 inch cubes.
step two: spear a bunch onto kabob skewers
step three: grill until done

(note: its best to kabob all like ingredients together, so no alternating different fruits (yes fruits), vegetables or meats, so one kabob full of meat, one full of another vegetable, and a third with a second vegetable. The food cooks better and more evenly this way (no undercooked meat, but burnt pineapples. also try to find steel skewers, they're reusable, more sanitary, and splinter free).

[GolemsVoice]

You can also just grill them in the pan lightly. Slice them into small circles, fry them a few minutes, add salt an pepper, and you can eat them just so, they're delicious.

My girlfriend also knows how to make a lovely combo of tasty sauce rolled up into a slice of eggplant, but the eggplant isn't the main thing there.
There's also a nice Turkish restaurant not far from where I live where they serve wonderful eggplant salad, but I have no idea how they prepare it.

[mucat]

My favorite thing to do with eggplants (the large kind works better than the smaller Asian ones for this) is:


- Slice them diagonally into ellipses.

- Marinate in a mixture of vinegar, crushed garlic, sesame or olive oil, and chile oil.

- Grill them over open flame.

- Also grill some long sandwich rolls or sliced-open baguettes, with some of the extra marinade on the inside surfaces.

- Add your favorite herbs and vegetables, and make sandwiches!

They are awesome.

[banthesun]

Draw them!

For some bizare reason, every time I see an eggplant I'm overcome with an intense urge to draw a picture of it. This is problematic, because I can't stand eating the things. I had a period where I'd buy eggplants, sketch them, and then try to make something I could bear to eat out of them. Every time it was a failure, but I still want to draw eggplants everytime I see them...

Sorry I couldn't be more help, but there you go.

[Winter_Wolf]

Stuffed eggplant! Probably it works better with fat ones than Asian ones, but anyway. Cut off the stem, cut in half and hollow out the pithy part so you've got a couple of bowls (but keep the innards!) A little oil, a little chopped garlic, some salt, fry that up and when it's softened, add in some ground meat and brown that. Stuff all that goodness back into the hollowed out part, top with some marina sauce (or something tomato based), top the whole thing with cheese of choice (parmesan or maybe asiago would be better than cheddars) and bake it for "a while". 'Cause I don't remember the heat or the time, but generally lower heat and longer time so that you get a nice cook on and everything's done through without having the burnt/raw issue. Eh, maybe 350 degrees Farenheit for 20 minutes to start? Less if you don't like crispiness just to be safe, say 15 minutes—hey I like charred food.

Eggplant also works in Thai curry, but don't use the little ball-like ones, way too many seeds!

Actually if you can get your hands on a proper Chinese food cook book, there should be loads of recipes for eggplant. Nine out of ten are good eatin'.

[SaintRidley]

One word: Parmesan.

[Socratov]

One word: Parmesan.

yes.

Other then that, I found that eggplant of it's own has not that much taste. that said, it acts like some sort of sponge so you can 'impose' any flavour you want. I have had moderate to great success with black pepper, parmesan cheese, garlic and ketjap (some sort of soy based sauce). Also rock salt and olive oil come to mind. (don't use these all at once, it won't be pretty). Just think of what you are eating next to the eggplant and infuse flavours into the eggplant accordingly.

[Palanan]

Thanks to everyone for the suggestions so far--keep 'em coming!

After a trip to Trader Joe's, I now have a fine-looking eggplant with a "Product of USA" sticker, which makes a difference to me. Time for slicing and experimentation!

[Kneenibble]

With most other vegetables, I have a grasp of their essence enough to improvise and prepare them in a number of ways. But I don't get eggplants. I don't understand them. I gather that they usually need some extra preparation -- charring and peeling the skin, or brining, for example. Is it so? How can I grasp the nature of this beautiful curious fruit?

They are absolutely drawable, though, and I want to grow them in the garden this year purely for aesthetic reasons. Hey did anyone used to play Secret of Mana? What was with the eggplant dudes who flew around in clawfoot bathtubs?

If memory serves, the Chinese name for tomato translates as "foreign eggplant"...

[jonc83]

Parmigiana is great. Google some recipes.

Or you can make wedges. Chop, brush with oil and then serve with humus to dip.

[Winter_Wolf]

The larger eggplant are usually bitter, that's why people deal with salting and brining—to draw away some of that bitterness. Less of an issue with the smaller Asian variety, or if you're heavily saucing them. As to charring, heck I'll try most things if you put a good burnt crust on them.

The real puzzler to me is why we even call them eggplants. I've heard them called by another name, but all I can remember is it sounds kind of like "corrugated."

Once when I was just learning Chinese, I asked the serving lady for some eggplant. Except I didn't, because I said "qizi" instead of "qiezi". Qizi means "wife" in Mandarin. :smalleek: Oops.

[Coidzor]

^: Alternate names include: aubergine, brinjal, brinjal eggplant, melongene, garden egg, and guinea squash.

Funnily enough, it seems it's part of the Nightshade family. XD

Eggplant Parmesan(I was rather pleased with zucchini parmesan when they were out of eggplant, so you might try an eggplant and zucchini parmesan sometime after you master regular eggplant parm). Eggplant stirfry.

I seem to recall it in some soups and casseroles, but I'd say you'd probably want to poke around Greek recipes, maybe?


With most other vegetables, I have a grasp of their essence enough to improvise and prepare them in a number of ways. But I don't get eggplants. I don't understand them. I gather that they usually need some extra preparation -- charring and peeling the skin, or brining, for example. Is it so? How can I grasp the nature of this beautiful curious fruit?

They are absolutely drawable, though, and I want to grow them in the garden this year purely for aesthetic reasons. Hey did anyone used to play Secret of Mana? What was with the eggplant dudes who flew around in clawfoot bathtubs?

If memory serves, the Chinese name for tomato translates as "foreign eggplant"...

Can't help ya there, my family doesn't much care for them, so I've only poked at 'em a couple of times.

I think they're a reference to Eggplant Wizard, maybe? :smallconfused: I think there were also tomato guys who were basically a recolor of the same model. Though I thought it was a magic carpet. XD

They are related, possibly in the same genus, IIRC.

[jonc83]

How could I forget Mousaka!

[Palanan]

Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf
The larger eggplant are usually bitter, that's why people deal with salting and brining—to draw away some of that bitterness.

Ah. Did not know that, thank you.

Hmm.


Originally Posted by Winter_Wolf
Once when I was just learning Chinese, I asked the serving lady for some eggplant. Except I didn't, because I said "qizi" instead of "qiezi". Qizi means "wife" in Mandarin.

I've done that sort of thing in several languages, including Mandarin and especially Portuguese. I know how that feels.

[Cespenar]

1) Slice it, fry it in olive oil.

2) Grind garlic in a mortar, mix it with yogurt to make (surprise!) garlic yogurt (which goes with everything, but I digress).

3) Serve 1 with 2.

Optional 4) Add zucchini to the first step as well.

You can thank me later.

[Autopsibiofeeder]

Stuffed eggplant! Probably it works better with fat ones than Asian ones, but anyway. Cut off the stem, cut in half and hollow out the pithy part so you've got a couple of bowls (but keep the innards!) A little oil, a little chopped garlic, some salt, fry that up and when it's softened, add in some ground meat and brown that. Stuff all that goodness back into the hollowed out part, top with some marina sauce (or something tomato based), top the whole thing with cheese of choice (parmesan or maybe asiago would be better than cheddars) and bake it for "a while". 'Cause I don't remember the heat or the time, but generally lower heat and longer time so that you get a nice cook on and everything's done through without having the burnt/raw issue. Eh, maybe 350 degrees Farenheit for 20 minutes to start? Less if you don't like crispiness just to be safe, say 15 minutes—hey I like charred food.

Eggplant also works in Thai curry, but don't use the little ball-like ones, way too many seeds!

Actually if you can get your hands on a proper Chinese food cook book, there should be loads of recipes for eggplant. Nine out of ten are good eatin'.

This is good, my wife makes a great version of this. I think there's also just a whiff of cream in the meatstuff in our case, but that's details.

I also like to use it in lasagna. Slice it, grill slices briefly and incorporate it into one of the layers.

[Palanan]

Eggplant Update

--Utter, abject failure.

I've spent much of the evening with the oven and the cutting board, the skillet and the range. I've gone through half a large eggplant, and at this point I'm beginning to think the Eggplant Renaissance is not for me.

After all manner of permutations--including several rounds of salting, dewing and blotting--the only thing that was remotely edible was my own desperate invention, dredging portions in Karachi spices and pan-frying them in olive oil. Even then, all I ended up with was a caked, burned crust of spice around a mushy interior: barely edible, hardly inviting.

And it is INSANE how much oil these things can soak up. I covered the bottom of the skillet in olive oil, let it heat to steaming--and as soon as I dropped in three slices of eggplant, they were cooking dry. All that oil was drawn up inside them.

Which is probably why I feel like I've swallowed a handful of small lead balloons.

:smallfrown:



EDIT: I don't mean to be cranky, and I certainly appreciate all the suggestions. But eggplant evidently involves a steep learning curve.

: /

.

[Cespenar]

And it is INSANE how much oil these things can soak up. I covered the bottom of the skillet in olive oil, let it heat to steaming--and as soon as I dropped in three slices of eggplant, they were cooking dry. All that oil was drawn up inside them.


The key to not making them into small sponges of oil is slicing them really thin (like, quarter of an inch), and resting them in a bowl of cold water with a tablespoon of salt added to it, for about 30 minutes. Afterwards you have to squeeze the water out of them with your hands, though.

Then proceed to pan-frying in olive oil. Also, spices do tend to burn easily, so, consider adding them afterwards, via some kind of a sauce or something.

[Sallera]

You really don't need to cook them in oil at all, especially at the start. Start with just the fresh, unsalted eggplant slices in a dry pan on fairly low-ish heat, cook on each side until they're dry and a bit browned (say, 3-5 minutes a side? I just did this earlier tonight, but I wasn't really watching the time). Then add any moist ingredients, and a bit of oil if you want it, and the eggplant should cook to a much more pleasant texture.

For example, what I tried this evening was cooking the eggplant and zucchini in a dry pan, then once they were mostly done, adding chopped tomatoes and green onions with a splash of olive oil, which mixed together into a nice pasta sauce with a few more minutes of cooking.

[Pam Smith]

Egg plant a spicy masala and the oven. 25 minutes bunged in the oven. nicely done