Thursday, January 7, 2010

Thai Eggplant



I really love Thai eggplants. They're small, sweet and perfect for curries. The problem is that you often have to get a package of two dozen or more. That's a lot of eggplants. So what do you do with them all? I decided to deep-fry half a dozen. In a nice light batter I adapt from Marcella Hazan*: flour, salt and water — enough water to make the dough pour like sour cream. I cut up the eggplants into quarters, dipped them lightly in batter and deep-fried for about five minutes in pretty hot temperature. To keep the deep-fried eggplants hot, I parked them in a 350 degree oven, which made them even nicer. Sorta like french fries. I'd definitely give this dish a solid A. But how can you go wrong with deep-frying?

*BTW, USA Today once took Marcella Hazan to Olive Garden for her take on the chain's "Italian" cooking efforts. It's a pretty funny article.

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