Garlicky Roasted Chinese Eggplant Raita Recipes

ROASTED EGGPLANT AND GARLIC SOUP

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine the garlic, herbs and drizzle of olive oil together. Season with salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly. Split the eggplant in half, lengthwise and smear the garlic mixture over the top of each eggplant half. Place the eggplant on a baking sheet and place in the oven. Roast the eggplant for 30 minutes or until the eggplant is tender. Remove from the oven and cool. Using a spoon, remove the flesh of the eggplant and discard the skin. Heat the oil in a 2 quart saucepan. When the oil is hot, add the onions. Saute for 2 minutes. Add the roasted eggplant and garlic and continue to saute for 2 minutes. Stir in the stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes. Using a hand-held blender, puree the soup until smooth. Stir in the cream and continue to simmer for 3 minutes. Season the soup with the salt and the cayenne.

CHINESE EGGPLANT WITH GARLIC SAUCE

Steps:

• Combine the sauce ingredients in a small bowl and set aside.
• Wash the eggplants, cut the ends off and slice them into equal sized pieces. After slicing, separate the green and white portions of the scallions into roughly two piles.
• Over very high heat, heat a tablespoon of oil in your wok. Add half of the eggplant and let it sear until brown on all sides. You can lower the heat if it looks like they're starting to burn. You want to cook the eggplant for about 5 minutes until they start to get soft and have a nice sear. Take this first batch of eggplant out of the pan, heat a second tablespoon of oil, and do the same with your second batch. Set all the cooked eggplant aside on a plate.
• Set the heat to medium high and add the last tablespoon of oil to the wok, along with the ground pork. After the pork has browned, add the ginger and cook for a minute to let it crystalize with the pork. Stir in the whole red chili peppers and the minced garlic, and after a minute, turn the heat back up to high. Add the eggplant back in, along with the stir-fry sauce, the white parts of the scallions, and the shaoxing wine. Stir-fry everything together for another 2 minutes, making sure everything is well-combined.
• Toss in the rest of the scallions and stir-fry for another 20 seconds. Plate and serve immediately with white rice.

ROASTED EGGPLANT WITH GARLIC AND HERBS

Steps:

• Put the eggplant pieces in a large colander and sprinkle all over with the 2 tablespoons kosher salt. Set in the sink to drain for about 30 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Put a baking sheet in the oven to heat for 10 minutes.
• Meanwhile, peel and finely chop the shallot and garlic, and push to the side of the cutting board. Chop the parsley, then draw the shallots and garlic in with the herbs and chop them together, until finely chopped. Stir the aromatics and walnut oil together in a serving bowl.
• Toss the purged eggplant with the olive oil and pepper. Carefully remove the hot baking sheet from the oven and brush or drizzle with olive oil. Spread the eggplant out on the pan and return to the oven. Roast until the eggplant is tender yet firm and rich brown, about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven, toss with garlic and herbs. Serve right away or at room temperature.

ROASTED EGGPLANTS WITH GARLIC (蒜香烤茄子)

Steps:

• In a small bowl, mix oil with salt, light soy sauce and Chinese five spice powder.
• Wipe the eggplant clean and slice them in half lengthwise. With the tip of a knife, score the flesh deeply in a diamond cross-hatch pattern by making several long cuts, cutting at a steep angle, and then rotating the eggplant to make another set of similar cuts. This step helps the eggplants to absorb the oil and seasonings.
• Heat oven to 210 degree C. Then brush 1/2 of the oil mixture on the surface and then roast for 15 minutes. Take out and brush the remaining oil mixture. Continue roasting for another 15 minutes until the eggplants become soft and the edges are slightly curly.

NORTH CHINESE ROAST EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Cut the eggplant into 2-inch fingerlike strips. A 7- or 8-inch eggplant will yield about 18 to 24 pieces. Heat the peanut oil in a wok or large frying pan.
• In a bowl, combine the soy sauce, sugar and vinegar. Fry the eggplant a batch at a time until golden brown and drain on paper towels. The eggplant pieces should have plenty of room to fry on the surface of the oil.
• When all the eggplant is fried, heat a dry wok and add a little oil. When hot, add the garlic and ginger and stir briefly. Add the vinegar mixture and stir. It will quickly thicken, then add the eggplant and toss until most of the sauce cooks away and the pieces are well coated. Turn off the heat, dribble in the sesame oil and remove to a bowl.
• When ready to serve (this improves as it sits at room temperature), garnish with the scallion shreds.

GARLICKY ROASTED CHINESE EGGPLANT RAITA

Steps:

• 1. Prepare the cumin seeds. Then preheat the oven to 500° F. Put the eggplant in a bowl and toss with the oil, garlic, and cayenne pepper. Transfer to a broiler tray and roast on the center rack until browned on the underside, 5 to 7 minutes. Leaving the tray on the same rack, switch to the broiler heat (or raise the heat to broil and transfer the tray to the broiler, if needed). Broil until the tops of the vegetables are soft and lightly charred, 3 to 5 minutes. Let cool.2. Place the yogurt in a large serving bowl and mix in the salt and black pepper. Add the roasted eggplant and cilantro, and mix well. Garnish with the roasted cumin and paprika, and serve.From "1,000 Indian Recipes." Copyright 2002 by Neelam Batra. Used with permission of the publisher, Wiley Publishing, Inc. All Rights Reserved.