I purchased my first eggplant at the local farmers market this summer. I was excited for the purchase because not only was I looking forward to trying Madhur Jaffrey's Hot and Spicy Sichuan-Style Eggplant recipe from World Vegetarian, but also I recently discovered I actually enjoy eggplant. I have long disliked eggplant - mostly because of its texture - and I feel that finally eating it is part of the process of me becoming an "adult" eater (though mushrooms continue to escape my fancy).
So in any case, when I started to prepare the eggplant, for some reason I decided it would be best to forgo the steaming of the eggplant called for in the recipe and instead saute the vegetable instead. Unfortunately, that step seemed to be the first and most important in leading to a pretty inedible dish (I made some other recipe modifications - e.g., substituting onion, chili garlic sauce, etc. - that I will omit here). I looked up eggplant sauteing online, and then kept cooking it until it seemed both under and overcooked at the same time. There was also a slightly charred, unpleasant flavor that developed as I was cooking the eggplant. Ultimately, I had a few bites of the dish and ended up throwing it away. So until I learn how to actually saute eggplant, I think I will stick to steaming and roasting it, which seem to be the most common - and most foul-proof - ways to prepare this vegetable :-)
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