Chinese Strange-Flavor Eggplant - 17g Carbs, 3g Fiber
Recipe By: The Modern Art of Chinese Cooking by Tropp
Serving Size: 4
Preparation Time: 0:00
Categories: Low Cal (Less than 300 cals) - Lower Carbs - Vegan
1 pound firm slender eggplant -- Chinese or Japanese variety recommended
Aromatics:
3 garlic cloves -- to 4, stem end removed, lightly smashed and peeled, equal to 1 Tablespoon minced fresh garlic
1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger -- about a walnut-size nugget
1 large scallion -- cut into 1" lengths, equal to 3 Tablespoons chopped scallions
1/3 teaspoon dried red chile pepper flakes -- 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon, to taste
Liquid Seasonings:
2 1/2 Tablespoons thin (regular) soy sauce -- to 3 Tablespoons
2 1/2 Tablespoons packed light brown sugar -- to 3 Tablespoons
1 teaspoon unseasoned rice vinegar -- Chinese or Japanese
1 Tablespoon hot water
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil -- corn or peanut
1 teaspoon sesame oil -- Chinese or Japanese
To garnish: -- 1 Tablespoon green scallion rings
Baking the Eggplant: Preheat the oven to 475F and set the rack in the
middle of the oven. Tear off the leaves, rinse the eggplant, and pat dry. Prick in several place with a fork to act as steam vents during baking.
Bake the eggplant in a baking dish or on a baking sheet until it gives
easily when you press it with a chopstick or spoon, about 20-40 minutes depending on size. Turn the eggplant over once midway through baking to insure even cooking. Remove to a plate and allow to cool. The eggplant will look like a deflated, wrinkled balloon.
Once cool, the eggplant may be sealed airtight and refrigerated for up to 2 days before saucing.
Cutting the Eggplant and Readying the Sauce: Discard the stem and cut the eggplant in half lengthwise.
Peel large Western eggplant fully. The peel should tear off easily with your fingers.
Asian eggplant can be peeled entirely, or you may leave on the bit of peel that inevitably clings to the flesh and is quite good tasting. Drain Western eggplant of any watery liquid, but reserve the thick, brown "liqueur" often exuded by Asian eggplant.
To puree the eggplant, cut it into large chunks, then process in a food processor or blender until smooth. For shreds, tear the eggplant into long, pencil-thin strips with your fingers. It is slower than slicing with a cleaver, but the texture is inimitable and the irregular contours drink up the sauce. Once pureed or shredded, the eggplant may be sealed airtight and refrigerated overnight. Bring to room temperature before saucing.
Mince the garlic, ginger and scallion until fine in the work bowl of a
food processor fitted with the steel blade, scraping down as necessary.
Alternatively, mince the ingredients by hand. Put in a dish alongside the red pepper. Sealed airtight, the aromatics may be refrigerated for several hours.
Combine the soy sauce, sugar, vinegar, and water, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Use the larger amount of soy sauce and sugar for Western eggplant.
Stir-Frying the Dish: Have the eggplant and the remaining ingredients all within easy reach of your stovetop.
Heat a medium-size, heavy skillet over high heat until hot enough to
evaporate a bead of water on contact. Add the corn or peanut oil, swirl to glaze the pan, then lower the heat to medium. When the oil is hot enough to sizzle a piece of garlic, add the aromatics, nudging the chili flakes in last. Stir until fully fragrant, about 20-40 seconds, adjusting the heat so they foam without browning. When the fragrance is pronounced, stir the liquids and scrape them into the pan. Stir, wait for the liquid to boil around the edges, then add the eggplant and stir to combine it with the sauce and heat it through. Turn off the heat and taste. Adjust if required with a bit more sugar to bring the spiciness to the fore, then add the sesame oil and stir to combine. Scrape the eggplant into a serving bowl of contrasting color, then smooth the top with the spatula.
Serve the eggplant hot, tepid, at room temperature, or chilled, garnished with scallion. Left to sit for several hours or overnight, the flavors will enlarge and the spiciness will become pronounced. Cover tightly and refrigerate once cool.
Leftovers keep beautifully 3 to 4 days, sealed airtight and refrigerated.
Menu Suggestions: This is an excellent opening to a hot dinner, paired
with a Chenin Blanc. As part of a cold table you might partner it with... [tangy cold noodles]. In a Western menu, it is a delicious accompaniment to unadorned or grilled [favorites].
Yields about 2 cups, enough to serve 4-5 as a light vegetable course, 6-8 as part of a multi-course meal, 10-15 as an hors d'oeuvre spread with crackers.
Technique Note: Cooking eggplant in the oven eliminates the oiliness
caused by stir-frying and the wateriness engendered by steaming. It is a Western technique I use gladly in the interest of a better dish.
When adding an assortment of minced condiments that includes red chili
pepper to heated oil, add the pepper last. The oil will be somewhat cooled and tempered by the other ingredients, and the chili will be less likely to scorch.
Garnishing a dish with sesame oil just before it leaves the pan imparts aroma and luster. In the case of this eggplant dish, it also adds a pronounced flavor and a needed touch of oil, without which the eggplant tastes flat.
Author Note: In Chinese poetry and art criticism the word 'kuai' can mean "odd" as in downright weird, or "strange" as in fascinating and unusual. In cooking, there is no such confusion. "Strange Flavor" dishes are always extraordinary - spicy, subtle, sweet, tart, and tangy all at the same time., an ineffable blend of tastes. Usually, a strange flavor sauce has sesame paste as a component and is credited with a Szechwanese origin, but mine is clear and thin in a Shanghai mode. Instead of the eggplant, it permeates it.
This is an extremely versatile dish, delicious hot or cold, shredded for presentation as a zesty vegetable or pureed for serving as a novel hors d'oeuvre spread with crackers. The complete lack of oiliness and the piquant flavor make it a great favorite.
I prefer the elongated Chinese or Japanese eggplants, which are sweet and not watery, with a pleasantly edible skin. If unavailable, use the large Western variety and pick the smallest good-looking ones on the shelf. Chosen by Chinese standards, the skin should be unblemished and somewhat dull, and the plant should feel firm, though not hard, to the touch.
The eggplant may be baked a day or two before saucing, and refrigerated another day before serving. The flavors become even fuller if the dish is made in advance.
Cuisine: "Asian"
Source: "101 Classic Cookbooks: 501 Classic Recipes, edited by Marvin J. Taylor and Clark Wolf, The Fales Library, New York University"
S(Formatted by Chupa Babi): "March 2013"
Yield: "2 cups"
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Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 141 Calories; 8g Fat (48.0%
calories from fat); 2g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 648mg Sodium
Exchanges: 1/2 Vegetable; 1 1/2 Fat; 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.
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