Eggplant/Aubergine

[Smithy]

*bump*

It seems that eggplants are finally back in the market and the season is upon us again. I recently was the proud owner of the most gorgeous regular old American Globe eggplants. Having eaten up my Eggplant Gratin in a batch of pressed sandwiches for an excursion, I went to my pantry for inspiration. Eggplant Stew - with a Mexican twist was the result. I have now deemed it worthy to be included in the venerable RecipeGullet. Not all recipes make that cut.  This is really good stuff.

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Fifi, that eggplant gratin is excellent. Thanks for including it and the stew with the Mexican twist. (I haven't tried that one yet, but I will soon. I love eggplant.)

I got an interesting transoceanic echo a couple of nights after trying your Eggplant Gratin, when I cooked up an eggplant casserole from one of my Egyptian cookbooks. The chief differences between that recipe and yours are that the Egyptian casserole is a stovetop exercise - at last, I finally have fried eggplant without getting it greasy! - and that it's meatless. The casserole was smoother and oilier than your gratin, with everything collasped down nearly past recognition from frying and/or sauteing, but the flavors were very similar anyway. (Well, except for the chorizo.) Both lend themselves well to sandwiches, or refrigerator raiding.

[fifi]

As soon as I get that tagine cured, and get my flame tamer, I am going to try some of the recipes that Smithy references. I am thinking that clay pot cooking with eggplant will be a winner.

[Chris Amirault]

Just wanted to add that the Al Forno caponata recipe, which includes grilled eggplants (and makes enough for an army), is outstanding. I've tweaked it over the years; if anyone's interested, let me know and I'll post my revision.

[Austin]

Since they were mentioned above, I thought I might go into a bit more detail about Thai eggplants. There are three kinds that are normally used:

1. Makheua Proh: These are the roun, golfball-sized white and green eggplants often sliced into quarters and put in curry or eaten raw with nam phrik. There are two kinds: the hard, predominately white ones are usually eaten raw (unfortunately, the majority sold in the US are this type), the slightly softer ones are used for cooking. Although they look and taste quite similar, they're not used interchangeably by Thais.

2. Makheua Phuang: These are the tiny green "pea eggplants" often used in curries (especially in combination with makhuea proh in kaeng khiaow waan, green curry). They are slightly bitter and are generally cooked, except for when slightly pounded with nam phrik kapi (shrimp paste dip) to add a slightly bitter taste. In northern Thailand they're grilled and smashed up with long green chilies in another popular dip. Western-style peas are NOT a good substitute. If you can't find the real thing, just go without them.

3. Makheua yaaw: The long, green "Japanese eggplant". This is usually cooked, and used in many muslim-style Thai curries, especially kaeng karii. It is also grilled and made into a "yam", a kind of Thai salad with lime/fish sauce/sugar.

There are a couple other small white or yellow eggplants in Thailand. These are generally only eaten raw with nam phrik.

All eggplants brown very quickly when cut, so a good idea is to have a bowl of water with a squeeze of lime, or a tsp. of vinegar to hold them in.

I wish I had some photos... Maybe I'll take some this weekend if I go to Or Tor Kor.

Austin

[Chris Amirault]

I wish I had some photos... Maybe I'll take some this weekend if I go to Or Tor Kor.

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Please do! I would also love some advice on selection and cooking each of them. Thanks in advance!

[Jason Perlow]

And our current cook-off is Moussaka, for you eggplant fans.

[JanGilbert59]

Soba, I was trying to avoid the sliminess because of all of the complaints and suicide notes I receive when slimy okra is served.

Jin,

Why is okra full of snot? If it wasn't for that I'd eat the hell out of it.

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Okra is an acquired taste that once acquired can never be lost.

[Alex]

From April's Gourmet, this recipe for Fried Stuffed Chinese Eggplant looks appetizing.

[Austin]

I went to Or Tor Kor, took pictures of Thai eggplants, got home, edited them...then discovered that I'm not able to post them here... I'm not sure what the problem is, I can make a link, but I can't see how to upload an image file and put it here. Anyway, the photos are on public view in the image section, but without any explanation it doesn't help much...!

Austin

[Austin]

OK, here goes, lets see if this works:

Above is a photo of makhuea proh; the kind that is usually cooked in curries (but can be eaten raw with nam phrik, chili pastes).

Above are makhuea phuang (bunch eggplants), also used in curries, or often raw and pounded up in nam phrik kapi.

Makhuea yaaw (long eggplant). Often grilled, or sliced in some (often Muslim-style) curries.

And finally a couple kinds of tiny eggplants usually eaten raw with nam phrik.

Hope this helps!

Austin

[fifi]

Cool pictures, Austin. I have seen all of those at my Asian markets except for the pretty stiped ones. I have never seen those, even in rather exotic seed catalogs.

[Austin]

You can barely make out some yellow and purple ones in the background as well. Those are used in an identical way.

Austin

[fifi]

I just noticed that you said raw. I don't know that I have ever eaten a raw eggplant. Well, except to nibble while slicing to check for bitterness. That is an interesting concept that requires more exploration.

[Austin]

Yeah, it's very common to eat eggplants raw in Thailand, especially with nam phrik. (In case you're not familiar with it, nam phrik is a generally spicy "dip" eaten by Thais.) Raw eggplants are slightly bitter, but are usually appealingly crunchy. When sliced, it's best to squeeze a lime over them so they don't turn brown.

Austin

[Chris Amirault]

Thanks for this. I've had a hard time distinguishing among these at our local markets, and will now have a bit more confidence!

[Adam Balic]

You can barely make out some yellow and purple ones in the background as well.  Those are used in an identical way.

Austin

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Austin - great images and information. I was wondering if you had any information on these yellow eggplants. They have been flown in from Thailand and you can judge the size from the pea eggplants etc. They smell very floral, really quite unlike any other eggplant I have had before. I thought that I would try some raw, but this was a mistake as they were so caustic that my throat felt raw for the rest of the day. I was too scared to use them after that......

[fifi]

Adam . . . I got curious about your reaction to the raw eggplant and raw throat. I pulled out my shiny new copy of McGee and started reading. A couple of things could be going on. Eggplants can be fairly high in tannins that produce what we call astringency. Then there are alkaloids that you may just have a sensitivity to. I know folks that can't eat honeydew melon or bananas because of such a reaction. Too much banana eaten plain makes my son's throat itch. He can eat them in a smoothie, though. I have no idea if any of this is related.

Anyway, in my search I found this fascinating piece of "I-didn't-know-that" information:

Eggplants are the only major vegetable in the nightshade family that came from the Old World. An early ancestor may have floated from Africa to India or Southeast Asia, where it was domesticated, and where small, bitter varieties are still appreciated as a condiment. Arab traders brought it to Spain and North Africa in the Middle Ages, and it was eaten in Italy in the 15th century, in France by the 18th.

Ya gotta love McGee.

[Adam Balic]

It didn't seem like a tannic reaction (no real feeling of astringency). It may be something specific to this type as I have never come across it's like before. As I said it looks just like a yellow version of the typical apple eggplant, but it had this strong floral smell.

I got the feeling that it might be the exception to the rule that these eggplants are eaten raw, but I would like to know if this is correct.

Cool McGee quote. I have wondered about this. Makes sense, as gourds are found in both the new world and old world and are thought to have drifted across from one to the other. Seems unlikley, until you consider that Elephant bird eggs from Madagascar have ended up on the west coast of Australia after floating across the Indian Ocean.

[stephenc]

Slice eggplants, the long thin kind

Fill with a stuffing of chopped shrimp or pork, green onions

, a bit of soy, starch, garlic, ginger whatever.

Lightly coat with flour if you want, throw into a fry pan filled with peanut or canola. Fry those suckers up.

Top with a sauce made from soy, sweet bean paste, chiles, white wine, corn starch and water. Green onions.

[easternsun]

last night i ate a superbly simple sandwich: a baguette brushed with EVOO, marinated, grilled eggplant (honestly i prefer the term aubergine - sexy veg), plum tomatoes, rocket (arugula/rucola) and camembert cheese. yum

it was the best thing in my mouth all week.

[Corinna Dunne]

babaganoush - I hope I spelt that correctly!

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This works really well if you insert slivers of garlic into the aubergine before putting them on the grill to char.

Great to see so many moussaka fans on the cook off thread. It's a much malligned dish which is wonderful when prepared with care. I think aubergine has a particular affinity with lamb and goats cheese, so like to use the latter in the fluffy, bechamel/custard topping.

Edited May 12, 2005 by Corinna Dunne (log)

[tryska]

italian eggplant tastes really good cut up and roasted with honey.

don't have a recipe beyond that.

[TongoRad]

babaganoush - I hope I spelt that correctly!

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This works really well if you insert slivers of garlic into the aubergine before putting them on the grill to char.

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I really don't like the raw garlic flavor in babaghanous either, so that's a really intriguing solution.

My own method is a bit different. I have found that, to get the seriously smoky flavor that I prefer, the best way to char the eggplant is to do it directly on the gas burner. This, obviously, does a number on the skin so I finish the cooking process in the oven. The problem is that near the end of the charring process the skin cracks and juices start to make a mess on the burner- if the skin had been pierced from the beginning it would be a whole lot messier.

With my garlic, I roast some individual cloves, paper still on, in a dry pan on low heat until soft. The skin starts to burn a bit and gives some smoky character to the garlic as well. When done I remove the paper and mash them up into some olive oil, which gets added to the rest of the ingredients.

Edited May 12, 2005 by TongoRad (log)

[curlywurlyfi]

I occasionally make a beautifully rich aubergine curry, loosely based on a (I think) Nigel Slater recipe. Fry onion, garlic, coriander seeds till soft golden + floppy, add cubed aubergine, grated ginger, dried chilli flakes + crushed cardamom seeds*, fry a little. Add a tin of tomatoes and a tin (or half a tin) coconut milk, and some salt. Bring to the boil then simmer till aubergine is tender + sauce reduced. Chop fresh coriander over, serve with rice and possibly some plain yoghurt. Green beans go well alongside.

* spices can be varied as you please

[ldubois2]

To the subject of white eggplant, I remember reading that the original eggplant introduced to the US was white and that is why it was called "eggplant". Don't know if they call them eggplant in England or aubergine (sp). And will confirm that I also read there are male and female eggplant and difference is the size of the stem end. Older, less-fresh eggplant have more seeds.