Japanese eggplants

I have a freakin' bag of them - any ideas?
Any ideas for Italian or Thai dishes?
Thanks!
- Garro.

This is similar to something I do with eggplant. BTW this just gets better in the fridge and freezes very well.

I usually add some chorizo, or other spicy cased meat, or ham along with the seafood.

Frank's Super Bowl recipe: Shrimp and eggplant casserole | wwltv.com New Orleans

- Green thai curry (just get the paste).
- Slice them, grill, marinate in olive oil, balsamic and a ton of garlic. Eat cold on a nice bread with arugula/lettuce.

Remember to salt 'em for a while to get the bitterness out.

eggplant lasagna

you make like regular lasagna except you replace the pasta with thinly sliced eggplant. peel all the skin of the lasagna. you can lightly salt then wipe of the bitterness before making. this is delicious.

you can also lightly grill, and eat with ground ginger and soy sauce.

Same things that you do with regular eggplant.

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Originally Posted by maunahaole

Same things that you do with regular eggplant.

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I'm bored of those - lots of eggplants this year!
- Garro.

Slice thin and lengthwise - tempura batter.

Barbequed them with my burgers Sunday.

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Originally Posted by maunahaole

Slice thin and lengthwise - tempura batter.

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Reminds me of an Indian dish. Batter with chickpea flower, add spices (cumin, powdered garlic, turmeric, etc.). Very yummy.

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Originally Posted by -HvA-

Remember to salt 'em for a while to get the bitterness out.

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What's up with this?
I grew up with eggplants, and never salted them - is it like mushrooms where you sale them to 'loose their water?"
How much? Buried?
- Garro.

Just a dusting. However, I have never done this with japanese/long eggplant.

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Originally Posted by maunahaole

Just a dusting. However, I have never done this with japanese/long eggplant.

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Thanks!
These are the ones - there seems to be 4-5 kinds grown in the Verde valley.
Long, skinny, purple is what i have a sack of.
There are "regular" big purple ones but few people prefer them, smaller more pear shaped white-to-purple, long purple, Med/long yellow/purple.
- Garro.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by steve garro

What's up with this?
I grew up with eggplants, and never salted them - is it like mushrooms where you sale them to 'loose their water?"
How much? Buried?
- Garro.

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I can taste the difference, they taste kinda bitter if you don't. I apply quite a bit of salt too, let it sit for 20 minutes or so, rinse off before using for cooking. Try it and let us know :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by -HvA-

I can taste the difference, they taste kinda bitter if you don't. I apply quite a bit of salt too, let it sit for 20 minutes or so, rinse off before using for cooking. Try it and let us know :)

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I have found the salt and let drain thing a waste of time. YMMV !!!

This is to die for. No kidding, I make this in a heartbeat for parties as a spread for sandwhiches and to fill endive leafs. Go nuts, add hot ass to this and it makes insanely good spread for crusty bread...for instance. Basic recipe goes like this:

Eggplant Prep
1. Pre-heat oven to 500F
2. Slice eggplant into 3/4" pieces lengthwise and arrange on a lightly oiled cookie sheet
3. Sprinkle with course sea salt.
4. Roast until it looks well browned. You want to reduce and carmelize but not burn these. Result should be *fairly firm. *It will not look pretty.
5. Use a fork to loosen up the eggplant and transfer to a bowl
Other ingredients Prep
1. Lightly saute a metric ton of garlic with finely diced vidalia onions in good EVO. If you can get your hands on hard neck garlic do it. Cook until soft not more.
Combine
1. Combine the eggplant and saute with a few generous splashes of your best Japanese rice wine vinegar.
2. Consider adding cracked pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne etc. It is up to you but don't mess this up with other spices.
3. Add enough EVO to make it all come together. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
4. Cover the mix with a generous amt. of EVO. You want a thin puddle covering the entire mess.
5. Cover and store out of sight from filtching masses for 24 to 48 hrs.

Done. This is my version of what Jim Lahey describes as his spicey eggplant spread. This is a consistent huge hit at home.

toots, you thought about cooking that eggplant in the egg with some smoke added?

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Originally Posted by Too Tall

This is to die for. No kidding, I make this in a heartbeat for parties as a spread for sandwhiches and to fill endive leafs. Go nuts, add hot ass to this and it makes insanely good spread for crusty bread...for instance. Basic recipe goes like this:

Eggplant Prep
1. Pre-heat oven to 500F
2. Slice eggplant into 3/4" pieces lengthwise and arrange on a lightly oiled cookie sheet
3. Sprinkle with course sea salt.
4. Roast until it looks well browned. You want to reduce and carmelize but not burn these. Result should be *fairly firm. *It will not look pretty.
5. Use a fork to loosen up the eggplant and transfer to a bowl
Other ingredients Prep
1. Lightly saute a metric ton of garlic with finely diced vidalia onions in good EVO. If you can get your hands on hard neck garlic do it. Cook until soft not more.
Combine
1. Combine the eggplant and saute with a few generous splashes of your best Japanese rice wine vinegar.
2. Consider adding cracked pepper, red pepper flakes, cayenne etc. It is up to you but don't mess this up with other spices.
3. Add enough EVO to make it all come together. Taste and adjust salt if needed.
4. Cover the mix with a generous amt. of EVO. You want a thin puddle covering the entire mess.
5. Cover and store out of sight from filtching masses for 24 to 48 hrs.

Done. This is my version of what Jim Lahey describes as his spicey eggplant spread. This is a consistent huge hit at home.

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Now that is what I'm looking for.
I'm gonna rock this, you know what's in my kitchen, TT - Garro.

Here is what I ended up doing......
I had to make green salsa so I had the grill on to roast chilis and I threw on the eggplants and kind of forgot about them until I heard one pop - they were blackened - and, the skin came right off!

I put them in the blender with:
Garlic - lots.
1/2 sweet onion
salt/pepper
lemon juice
mix of 1/2 balsamic and 1/2 sweet rice vinagre
and obscene amount of fine EV olive oil, until it blended well. Allot.

Initial take = this stuff ROCKS.
Letting it sit 24hrs for real results.
- Garro.

I have heard that many breeds of eggplants have had most of the bitterness bred out of them. I haven't tried them all so I can't speak to it but normally I don't have a problem. The salting can still help to get some water out so that sauteing can go a little faster and such.

I also seem to be mildly allergic. It's weird maybe 15% percent of the time I have eggplant it tastes burny.