Recipe from Ruth Reichl
Adapted by Kim Severson
- Total Time
- 20 minutes, plus refrigeration time
- Rating
- 4(326)
- Notes
- Read community notes
Ruth Reichl serves this in a bowl for people to fork onto crackers while having a glass of wine or a co*cktail. It also works well alongside grilled meat or just over rice for a little lunch. “What I love most about cooking with eggplant,” she writes in "My Kitchen Year: 136 Recipes That Saved My Life," the book in which this recipe appeared, “is their complete docility: No other vegetable is so content to abandon itself to your will.” —Kim Severson
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Ingredients
Yield:6 servings as an appetizer
- 1½pounds long, thin Asian or baby eggplants
- 3tablespoons fish sauce
- 1lime
- 2tablespoons brown sugar
- 1clove garlic, minced
- 1teaspoon chile flakes
- Chopped cilantro or mint leaves
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)
48 calories; 0 grams fat; 0 grams saturated fat; 0 grams monounsaturated fat; 0 grams polyunsaturated fat; 11 grams carbohydrates; 4 grams dietary fiber; 7 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 710 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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Step
1
Prick the eggplants all over with a fork and singe them over the burner of a gas stove, turning constantly, for about 10 minutes until the skin is black and blistered. Allow to cool.
Step
2
Carefully peel the eggplant skin. (This can be fussy, but you want to get all the skin off.) Pull the eggplant into strips and lay them in a shallow bowl.
Step
3
Mix the fish sauce with the lime juice, the sugar and a couple of tablespoons of water. Add the minced garlic and chile flakes. Pour over the eggplant and marinate in the refrigerator for a few hours. When ready to serve, garnish with a few leaves of chopped cilantro or mint.
Ratings
4
out of 5
326
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Cooking Notes
MadeleineC
I find it easier to roast eggplants in a 450 degree oven until they start to collapse, then slit them open and scrape the pulp off the peel with a spoon.
Wyattearp
Baked at 450 degrees as suggested by a prior poster. Cooled, peeled, then let marinate in fridge as recipe suggested.
Delicious. I highly recommend this dish. Served in a rice bowl with roasted chicken, kale, spaghetti squash, avocado, sesame seeds
Froster
This method will not blacken and blister the skin, which is what gives eggplant an unmistakebly smoky note. If you don't want to mess up the burners on the stove (and who does?), set the halved eggplant on baking sheet (preferably one that you've covered with foil and cooking spray) and place under a broiler set on high. When you begin to smell it smoke, turn it off, and leave it in there to cool. Voila.
Pat philipps
Thanks, madeleinec, for the roasting tip.
We don't have a gas stove where we currently live.
Ruth should have included this in her recipe!
Kate
In my experience, charring eggplants (or peppers, etc.) this way is not only easier, with very little loss of flavor, it also saves your gas stove burner which can get wrecked doing what Ms. Reichl recommended unless you completely protect it first with a large collar of aluminum foil.
D. Jones
What are some good vegetarian alternatives to fish sauce?
Christa
I know I'm a wimp, so I knew a full teaspoon of chili flakes would be too overpowering, so I simply left them out. The salad is flavorful enough as it is and can stand on its own without the chili flakes, if they're too much for you. I ate part of it on crackers and the rest of it over brown rice. I roasted two medium-sized globe eggplants in a 400-degree oven for an hour until they collapsed. Charring them provides a rich smoky flavor, but even just roasting is good and even simpler.
Robert Laflèche
Made this today. Used 1 eggplant, quartered, brushed with olive oil, salted and peppered. Roasted in the oven. 1/4 tsp chile flakes (scared to use more;).
Surprisingly delicious. Will make again.
Merci pour la recette.
Kate
I used a little less fish sauce (about 2T) and less brown sugar (1.5 T) and thought that it was plenty strong for that quantity of eggplant. I also tossed in some thai basil because I had it which was a delicious addition. It's still warm enough so I fired up the gas grill and charred the eggplant outside. Much easier to clean up! Once winter hits I plan to roast the eggplant in a 450 oven (cut in half on a cookie sheet) and then broil at the end to get a little char.
Nona
I agree with Madeleine C.. using the oven is much easier..I put them on a foil lined pan under the broiler and turn them every 5-6 minutes until they are blackened and soft..usually about 20 min. And then scrape out the flesh.. much simpler than peeling them. They still have the smokey flavor.. foil can be rinsed and reused or recycled! I have an abundance of the Thai long green eggplants in the garden and this is a quick way to use them.
frybyte
if you don't have a gas stove, in Turkey it's done over a fire, or charcoal (harder), and I've used a torch (butane) that some use for browning the tops of custard(?) a woodworkers blowtorch works very well- put the eggplant on skewers so you can turn it Claudia Roden says wrap the eggplant in foil or a towel after the surface is charred and let it rest for a bit -makes the skin easier to get off- I don't usually wait.
Ferguson
This was delicious. I have an electric stove so I broiled the eggplant and it worked just fine.
Mare
Step 1: pick eggplants from gardenStep 2: char on grillStep 3: marinate as directed and enjoy with mezze and grilled breadSo simple yet the flavor is complex—AMAZING!
Sook
This was a staple in our family but rather than roasting or broiling it, we steamed the egg plant (not smoky but still delish), then scooped out the flesh and dressed it with crispy shallots, shallot oil, sesame oil, soy sauce, a dash of balsamic vinegar, a touch of sugar to balance acidity and chopped cilantro.
conor
The baking and broiling tips were great! Just a reminder to poke holes in the eggplants before putting in the oven if you’re baking them whole.
Jean from NC
Easier still: charred eggplant is available in jars from middle eastern markets. Most have too much citric acid, but the one from the Turkish brand, Gurme 212, is good.It even comes in 6 lb jars ;-)
Ms D
What are chilli flakes? Do you mean the red pepper flakes that most stores carry?
Karen NBvW
https://store.177milkstreet.com/collections/specialty-cookware/products/pazaar-kozmatik THIS is the ideal way to char eggplants & other vegs. like peppers. Works like a charm & keeps most of the 'mess' under control. A bit $$$ for such a single use 'tool' but indespensible if charring vegs. is your 'thing'!
Kate
Made the eternal mistake of not reading the recipe far enough ahead and didn't realize it's supposed to marinate in the fridge for a while, and can confirm it's still delicious tossed together and eaten immediately. I had mine with roasted pork belly over brown rice, garnished with cilantro and scallions.
NC Gal
Use wood chips (immersed in water for 15 min and drained) in a grill smoker to get the smoky flavor.
Sueannie
This is a meatless version of a Madhur Jaffrey Vietnamese recipe I've made many times. Ground pork (turkey or chicken) is stir fried with onion & garlic, to top the prepared charred eggplant split in half. Then the Nuoc Cham sauce, sliced scallions & cilantro over the top make this a delicious main course supper with Jasmine rice on the side.
Allyce
Some Middle Eastern markets carry pre-roasted and peeled eggplant in jars, which has a nice smoky flavor & makes making dishes like this or baba ganoush super easy.
Sharon E
I have been extremely successful cooking eggplant by simply steaming it skin down or skinless for 15 minutes in a steaming basket over boiling water, or in those steamers that come with rice pots. Sure, you don't get the smoky flavor, but boy is it convenient, and the texture and flavor is wonderfully malleable--perfect for this eggplant salad recipe, and Chinese and Middle Eastern eggplant recipes that are sauteed or blended with garlic sauce! Yummm!
balirose
One More Thing!There are so many vegan and vegetarian varieties of fish sauce out there right now, each trying to approximate the deep, yawning saltiness of the fishy version, and each reaching varying depths of umami and brine in different, resourceful ways.If you’ve yet to try any, check out the cookbook author Andrea Nguyen’s notes on varieties, which I found so helpful, as well as her tips for making your own approximation using pineapple juice, and other stuff, too.
Mark Seattle
I grill the eggplant over charcoal to get a stronger, smokier, charred flavor. I find eggplant tastes better with some wood smoke.
Modifications
Pretty awful c 3 tbsfish sauce 4 g of Salt!Julia salvaged it c toasted sesame oilNOT a repeat
Nona
I agree with Madeleine C.. using the oven is much easier..I put them on a foil lined pan under the broiler and turn them every 5-6 minutes until they are blackened and soft..usually about 20 min. And then scrape out the flesh.. much simpler than peeling them. They still have the smokey flavor.. foil can be rinsed and reused or recycled! I have an abundance of the Thai long green eggplants in the garden and this is a quick way to use them.
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