Instructions
I have something of a confession to make. I am only a recently-reformed eggplant loather. For years I had held passionately to the view that eggplant is the devil’s work, capable of corrupting even the most blissful meal.
And then my epiphany arrived.
Crammed between festive diners in a small eastern Sydney Chinese eatery, I scooped up a mouthful of what seemed to be Hainanese tofu. Luscious and rich, with a lingering sweetness, it tasted like no tofu I’d tried before.
‘Grandmother’s eggplant’, then waitress explained. And, like a cleansing bolt out of a malevolent sky, I suddenly understood. The secret to eggplant is all in how you cook it.
Like tomatoes, capsicums, chillies and potatoes, the eggplant is a member of the Solanaceae family in which one also finds the deadly nightshade. It is an ancient species that originated on the prehistoric continent of Pangaea, although it has its modern heritage in the mountainous Nepalese plateaus. In consequence its role in Asian and sub-continental cookery was assured.
I suspect that many eggplant-averse diners like myself have taken umbrage with the inherently bitter taste of the vegetable. Certainly this is true of many traditional species of eggplant that are naturally rich in a range of alkaloids, including nicotine and tannins, whose potent tartness can be almost inedible. Botanically, the majority of this bitterness is contained in the fine dark sheath that encases the small seeds. To counter its effect, classically-trained chefs slice and salt the eggplant, allowing the curative nature of salt to draw out some moisture, taking much of the bitterness as well.
But these days, this concern is less troubling. Many modern species of eggplant have been deliberately cross-bred and hybridised to eliminate their seeds – these neutered eggplant are thereby much less butter and require no salting. You’ll recognise these varieties by sight, as when they are sliced the seeds appear white, or are not present at all.
However, there is still a role for salting eggplant. The vegetable’s soft structure means that is has a tendency to fall apart when included in wet dishes such as curries and stews. By drying out the flesh through salting, eggplant will retain its structure, even after slow-cooking.
And so my new adventure has begun. Rather than treading a path to avoid the accursed eggplant, I have started to seek out new and interesting ways of enjoying it. I still prefer to couple eggplant with aromatic spices, Malay curries are perfect, but a day shall soon come when the revelation is complete, and I shall sit down to a meal of moussaka. One day …….. one day.
Wagyu scotch fillet with eggplant curry