Today is the seventh day of the Lunar New Year, the Human Day, supposedly the birthday for all and everyone. I was looking for Asian dishes to cook for the Chinese New Year. I found this recipe in Ottolenghi’s Plenty More. If you like eggplant and haven’t used the steaming technique to prepare it, you might just want to give this simple recipe a try. Steaming maintains the texture of the eggplant flesh, unlike any other techniques, like roasting or braising, which tend to dry out the vegetable. Steaming eggplant is commonly used in the Far East. Instead of the ubiquitous olive oil used in most Ottolenghi’s recipes, he dressed the eggplants, appropriately, with an Asian dressing. Sesame oil, soy sauce, rice vinegar, chopped fresh ginger and garlic. The resulting dish gives eggplant a substantial quality suitable to be served as a main course with just plain rice or fried tofu.
There are so few ingredients, yet this dish packs a big nutritional punch and taste that lingers. You want to eat more of it!
This may not be the dish everyone wants to be served on his/her birthday. Somehow, this is a very affordable and satisfying dish, with an equalitarian quality. Almost anyone is able to put this on the table, with a smile, anywhere in the world.
12 Comments
Alicia Foodycat
February 26, 2015 at 9:55 pmI've eaten eggplant prepared this way but never cooked it myself. It looks delicious!
Susan Lindquist
February 27, 2015 at 2:40 amA completely new way of prepping this vegetable! Very interesting! I do like the idea of it sitting next to a bowl of steamed rice! I'd be perfectly happy.
flour.ish.en
February 27, 2015 at 2:42 amThis was my first steamed eggplant. Glad to have found another way in preparing eggplant.
flour.ish.en
February 27, 2015 at 2:47 amIt is a simple dish with bold flavor. I would be happy too, eating that with a bowl of rice. It was also easy to make.
Joyce Rachel Lee-Bates
February 27, 2015 at 3:08 amIt's hard to cook eggplant in my opinion. Too cooked, they become mushy, undercooked, they cause itchiness on my tongue. Your dish looks fabulous though!
kitchen flavours
February 27, 2015 at 3:45 pmI love eggplants, and your dish looks yummy!
flour.ish.en
February 27, 2015 at 6:25 pmYou are so right about how tricky it is to cook eggplant. A humble vegetable which takes proper techniques to bring out its best.
flour.ish.en
February 27, 2015 at 6:26 pmThis is my first attempt, but won't be the last.
Zosia
March 2, 2015 at 12:42 pmI've never steamed eggplant – or eaten it, to my knowledge – but Ottolenghi introduced me to the method of burning it, so I trust that this is equally delicious! And the dressing sounds fantastic! Wonderful dish.
Deb in Hawaii
March 2, 2015 at 10:02 pmI love eggplant but have never tried steaming it. I am definitely tagging this dish to make–I love all of the flavors in that dressing. 😉
Kim
March 9, 2015 at 2:04 amHappy to have you with us at IHCC anytime! This is a gorgeous and very flavorful eggplant recipe. I would be happy to eat it on my birthday or any other day:)
flour.ish.en
March 9, 2015 at 1:17 pmThanks for your warm welcome!