We even got to try it ourselves one weekend and it was assessed as good... although she was probably just being nice - hers somehow magically gets an amazing smoky flavour, even though no smoking was involved. Anyway, upon looking I discovered that I never got around to sharing that recipe, so I had to make it up for my family and fine the recipe when I get home to share!
EGGPLANTS OF POWER AND MAGIC (aka Smokey Vietnamese Eggplant Recipe)
Stuff you need to have:
Eggplants: The long skinny purple type work best. I believe this recipe will do sauce for 2-3 eggplants, but you can stretch it if needed :) The big fat round guys do work too, but you will find that the eggplants fall apart in the "squash water out" step, or you cut them up because it's too hard to fry when they are so big!
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| Mrs Hanh's Amazing eggplant of awesome |
Sauce
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
2 TbSp fish sauce
3 cloves garlic
one long red chilli
3 spring onions
Carefully slice eggplants as in the picture. By scoring them this way you will drastically cut down cooking time! Place eggpants with slits cut in into a saucepan of simmering water with a teaspoon of salt and simmer until soft and squishy to the touch (or the poke as the case may be)
Mix sugar, water and fish sauce together and stir well to dissolve sugar, add finely diced chilli.
Fry diced onions and garlic until soft and add to the sauce
Once eggplants are cooked place in a colander and squeeze excess water out with the back of a spoon. Fry eggplants in about 1-2cm of oil until brown and crispy.
Drain excess oil (this can be kept and used for frying spring rolls for added flavour - stay tuned for spring roll recipe!).
With small amount of oil add sauce to the cooked eggplants and cook for approximately 5 minutes, or until it smells so good you just have to eat it!
Tip onto a plate - if you have somehow kept your eggplants mostly whole (mine never are!) cut them roughly. Put chopped peanuts on top of the eggplants.
