Monday was a long and busy day. I had some eggplant from the Madison Farmer’s Market to deal with, and thought I’d try something stir-fry-ish. There were also some chicken breasts in the freezer and I was wondering about applying my ‘all-purpose’ buttermilk marinade to an Asian inspired meal.
Question answered. YUM!
I’m going to split this post over two days – mostly because I’ve been busy and didn’t even START cooking until after I got home from the Loop around 7:30-ish.
I’ve tried spicy eggplant recipes before with – to me – mixed results. THIS time – I am happy – THIS is the one to follow…
INGREDIENTS:
•Vegetable oil
•1 Eggplant, cut into 1-inch cubes
•2 onions, diced (I used 1 /2 one large onion)
•1 tbsp minced garlic (3 cloves)
•3 tbsp soy sauce
•1 tsp white sugar
•1 tsp dried ginger
•1 tsp red chili flakes – you may want to cut this down to 1/4 or 1/4 tsp
•Scallions
•2 tbsp water
•1 tbsp chili garlic sauce – not the ketchup-y stuff – look in the Asian foods section I used sweet chili sauce from Trader Joe’s
•Ground black pepper to taste
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or wok over medium-high heat until almost smoking. Cook and stir the eggplant cubes until they begin to brown, 3 to 5 minutes – I let mine cook for more like ten minutes – but then I may still lack the courage of my stir-fry conviction. Remove the eggplant with a slotted spoon, and set aside.
Heat 2 more tablespoons of oil in the skillet over medium-high heat, and cook and stir the onions just until they begin to soften, about 30 seconds. Stir in the garlic, ginger and chili flakes and cook and stir an additional 30 seconds. Mix in the soy sauce and sugar, water, chili garlic sauce, and black pepper, and stir to from a smooth sauce. Return the eggplant to the skillet, lower the heat, and allow the vegetables and sauce to simmer until the eggplant is tender and almost all the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 minutes (it took me more like ten to fifteen minutes – watch your wok and judge your time). SO, SO TASTY…