Egging on the Eggplant

I first had this dish in a small restaurant at Banani Road no. 11. I can never remember the name of the place but it is a two storied building with a giant concrete Shapla flower on the terrace. So it is kind of hard to miss. This place by far has the best Hong Kong style Chinese food in all of Dhaka. If you want that cuisine this is THE place to go. And there are plenty of healthy choices for those who want to cut down on the oil and fat. I just love the place.

Eggplants (i.e. Aubergine) is a great vegetable. You can really do a lot of stuff with it. This one uses minimal oil and is great tasting. Not at all a hassle to cook, and so far whoever I have served it to has loved the taste. The dish uses a lot of garlic. Don't shy away from the quantity. The end result really is nice and not overwhelming with garlic smell.

Yummy Hong Kong Style Steamed Eggplant
Serves 4

Eggplant - 2
Garlic (diced) - 4 cloves
White Vinegar - 2 tablespoons
Soy Sauce - 1 to 1 1/2 Tablespoons
Sesame Oil - 2 teaspoons
Sugar - 1/2 to 1 level teaspoon
Oil - 1/2 to 1 tablespoon
Salt - 1 1/2 teaspoons
Chili oil (optional) - 1/2 teaspoon

Peel and cut the eggplants into 1/3 inch thick slices. The slices should be about a matchstick long and 1/2 inch wide.

Sprinkle the salt and coat the sliced eggplants and set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Drain the dark water that comes out of the eggplant and wash the eggplant throughly under running water.

Steam the eggplants until they are soft but holds the shape of the slices. I usually just put a wire strainer on top of a boiling pot of water and put the eggplants in the strainer and cover to steam. Time to time make sure you just move the eggplants to ensure all the slices get steamed from all sides.

In a small bowl mix the sesame oil, soy sauce, vinegar and sugar. Set aside

Heat a karai/wok add the oil. Add the diced garlic and stir fry for 1 minute. Be careful not to let the garlic turn brown. Add the steamed eggplant and keep stir frying for another 2 minutes.

Add the sauce mixture and coat the eggplants throughly. Check for seasoning. I sometimes add a bit more sugar or salt or sesame oil depending on the taste. If you find the need for more salt after adding the sauce, you can either add some salt or some soy sauce.

If you want to make it a bit hot, pour the chili oil and coat the eggplants throughly.

Serve hot with rice or noodles.

Enjoy!!!!

Note: If you are not sure where to get sesame oil there are a few places which sells it in Dhaka.
1. Agora (at times)

2. The Gulshan 1 DIT wet market (there are three or four shops there which sell almost all the condiment you need to cook authentic Chinese food including great dried mushrooms. Just ask anyone at the wet market where to get the Chinese stuff and they will point you to the right direction)

3. Ko-Mart at Kamal Ataturk Road. Again I love this place as you can get almost anything you need to cook southeast Asian food. Even wasabi. They also have the best spring onion and bean sprouts in town. Also they have these great frozen and packed wonton like gyoza (Jiaoza) which are available in a variety of fillings (mushroom, vegetable, kimchi etc.) and are great as snacks. You can either fry them or even better, steam them and have them with soy sauce. If you want to jazz up the soy sauce a bit, add a bit of vinegar, some chopped spring onion and finely diced ginger. Yummy! You can just buy them and put them in your freezer and have them whenever you fee like! Who said frozen food can't be healthy and yummy?