Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Deep fried eggplants

I got this recipe from my hubby and he in turn, found it on the internet. The type of eggplant to use in this dish is globe eggplant. The problem with eggplant is that it's flesh is permeated with water. In order to get good flavors and texture in this preparation, salting it is very important. Salting accomplishes two goals. First, it pulls out the natural waters that carry bitter flavors and it collapses the air pockets in the eggplant's sponge-like flesh. The result prevents it from absorbing too much oil and getting greasy later when deep fried.


This dish was featured in Asian Food Channel (Official) Facebook page 
on 22 October 2012


Largely adapted from Fxcuisine.com
Ingredients:
2 medium globe eggplants
1 1/2 cup flour
¼ tsp ground clove
¼ tsp ground coriander
2 cups vegetable oil
½ cup salt
2 cups shredded cheddar ( or mozarella cheese, whatever you prefer)
Method to salt the eggplant:
To salt eggplant, peel and slice the eggplant into 1/4 inch slices. Sprinkle the pieces generously with salt and let them sit in a colander for an hour (you'll usually see a lot of liquid beading on the surface). Rinse the eggplant in running water to remove the salt, firmly squeeze a few pieces at a time in the palm of your hand to draw out almost all the moisture, and then pat the them dry with lots of absorbent paper towels. The rinsing will take longer then you think so be careful to thoroughly rinse and re-rinse until the salt is thoroughly washed away. Also, thorough drying is important. Squeezing out excess moisture will give you a less greasy result. The slices of eggplant will lose volume if you have done these steps correctly.
Method of cooking:
Mix flour, clove and coriander. Lightly coat eggplant with mixture. Heat oil till very hot. To test if the oil is hot enough, put a chopstick in the oil and if bubbles form around it, it is ready to add the eggplants in. Deep fry eggplants till golden brown and put them on absorbent paper towels to get rid of all the oil. Preheat oven at 200 degree C or 400 degree F. Lay eggplant slices flat on a baking dish. Add shredded cheese on top and bake just till cheese melts. Remove from oven and transfer to serving plate and serve immediately.

22 comments:

  1. One of my favourite dishes. Diane

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  2. Oh my gosh, this looks delicious. I may have to make this this weekend!

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  3. Eggplant is my favorite one. this one looks delicious.

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  4. Great tips on the eggplant salting. I have no idea! Lovely picture too!

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  5. wow i love the way you had photograph your egg plant dish, truly sexy and delightfully attractive!

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  6. This sounds wonderful, I can't wait to try it. And your photo is brilliant;)

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  7. Diane,
    Eggplants were originated from India and they grow wild. Thanks to China for first cultivate this plant and now we have a wonderful vegetable that is nutritious and delicious.

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  8. Betty,
    I am so happy to see you here and thanks for wanting to try this recipe. Hope you enjoy it.

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  9. Swathi,
    There are so many variation in Indian cuisine to cook eggplants and they are all delicious. It is easy to love eating them.

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  10. Jun,
    Good to see you and nice to know you learn something about eggplant:D

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  11. Big Boy Oven,
    Thanks for checking out my blog. Hope to see you more often. I love your description of my photo and thanks.

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  12. David,
    This is so easy to do but remember not salt the eggplants for more than one hour...I did that once and I had to throw them away, they are too saltish...hehe

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  13. Oh I so love this. Wishing my garden was filled with eggplant and not under snow. I fry them like this all the time but have never used cheddar.... yet! Grand recipe!

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  14. Lovely eggplants, eggplants being one of my favorite vegetables, I am always looking for some new recipes, mouthwatering...

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  15. Claudia,
    It must be very cold at your end. My first time experiencing snow is 2 years ago when my hubby took me to Prague.

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  16. citronetvanille,
    Have you tried stuffing fish paste in eggplants? It is my favorite vegetable in "Yong Tau Foo".

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  17. Sonia,
    So nice of you to visit me often and give me the encouragement to cook more. Have a nice holiday.

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  18. I like egg plants but haven't tried cooked this way. Thanks for the tips re salting it!

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  19. Looks deeeeeeeelicious! I love this kind of food...nice photo.

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  20. Cheah,
    Me too, I have never cooked this way before my hubby gave me the recipe and did not know about salting them:D I don't think Chinese eat their eggplant this way, we stir fry them of the time and use them in curry or yong tau foo ya?

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  21. Angie,
    Thanks. Please know I appreciate your visit and comment, this helps me want to cook some more:D

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