Cook’s notes
How to make it? A whole eggplant is sliced, tossed with oil and grilled in a non-stick pan. When the eggplant slices are partially cooked, the sweet-spicy sauce is poured in and the eggplant slices finish cooking in the liquid just long enough to soak up the flavors.
Easy, right? And so tasty. A few tips to ensure that you get the best results.
- Use Asian eggplant which is sweeter with no bitter undertones.
- Make sure that the pan is hot before spreading the eggplant slices in it to make sure that they get seared. If the pan is not hot enough, the eggplant slices will steam rather than brown and that will make them soggy and difficult to flip.
- Eggplant continues to cook in the residual heat from its own flesh even after removal from the cooking pan. Do not wait for the eggplant slices to turn too soft before moving them to a plate.
Pan-grilled eggplant with sweet chili sauce
Ingredients
- 1 eggplant
- 1 tablespoon palm oil
Sauce
- 1 tablespoon fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon calamansi juice or lime or lemon juice
- 1 bird’s eye chili thinly sliced
- ⅛ teaspoon grated ginger
- ⅛ teaspoon minced garlic
- 1 tablespoon sugar
Instructions
- Cut off and discard the top end of the eggplant. Split lengthwise then cut into two-inch pieces. Toss with the palm oil.
- Make the sauce by mixing together the fish sauce, calamansi (or lime or lemon) juice, chili, ginger, garlic and sugar with about four tablespoonfuls of water.
- Heat a non-stick pan.
- Arrange the eggplant slices, cut side down, in a single layer.
- Cook over medium-high heat for about two minutes or until nicely browned.
- Flip the eggplant slices over and cook for another two minutes.
- Flip the eggplant slices again. Pour in the prepared sauce. Boil gently for a minute.
- Turn the eggplant slices one last time. Boil for another minute.
- Transfer the cooked eggplant slices to a plate. Drizzle any remaining sauce over them.
Calabaza con chorizo (squash with sausage)
