grilled eggplant

Posted by ellie55 (1065 days ago)

try grilling them,turned out edible but dry,already poured in olive oil,salt..what s step did i miss"?

(I am based in Hong Kong)

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Posted by wendy7 (1065 days ago)

Eggplant absorbs a great deal of oil so you need to add more while you are frying. I heat some garlic in a reasonable amount of oil, take it out, add the eggplant and when I turn them, add more oil. The flavour comes from the oil too (olive ONLY!) and the garlic of course. I then salt them and voila! Yum!

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by megan1 (1065 days ago)

what about baked eggplant?

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by FJane (1065 days ago)

try frying them over really low heat with limited oil. Takes a while, but if you don't want to use as much oil.
After they have browned slightly on one side, turn them over, and after about 5 mins squash them with the back of an egg flip, juice will come out, but they cook in this. Use thick slices of egg plant.
Not sure how to bake eggplant

(I am based in Shanghai)

Posted by hoyo (1065 days ago)

she asked grilled and not fried eggplant!
it's normal that the eggplant is dried when they are grilled, nothing wrong with it but cut it a little thicker so that there's still some meat after the grilling. You will get all the moisture back after you have poured over oil and keep overnight in the fridge. What i do is I add lots of chopped garlic into the oil.
Concerning the frying, it's useless to use expensive olive oil, because the heat will kill it. Olive oil is best use uncooked.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by hoyo (1065 days ago)

also you should keep for a while the slices eggplant in salty water to get rid of its bitterness.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by quidam (1064 days ago)

The best way, using minimal oil, is in a George Foreman grill
http://www.wingonet.com/product/product_detail.php?lang=en&prod_id=5105

We eat them almost every day (as a low-fat, high fibre appetiser) cooked as follows. Cut each eggplant into three long slices (lengthwise). Coat the flesh (not skin) surface of each slice with lots of salt (don't worry - you will wash this off later). Stand up the salted pieces (vertically) in a saucepan or large bowl for 25 mins. The black (bitter) juices will run out. Pre-heat George Foreman. Now wash off ALL the salt under the cold tap. Pat dry with 2 or 3 ply kitchen paper. Smear each side of each piece with olive oil. Be sure the grill is really hot (minimum 5 minutes since you switched it on - spit on it to check, if nobody is watching!). Pop the slices in the pre-heated George Foreman for 4 minutes (until clouds of steam come out). Don't leave them after the steam finishes, or they will go dry. After cooking, sprinkle the top of each slice with medium-ground fresh-ground pepper (not the dreadful pre-ground stuff in little jars).

I don't want to start a squabble with previous posters, but using good quality olive oil is definitely a different taste, imho. Anyway, you use such a tiny amount of it when you cook this way that I doubt it costs you more than a few HK cents per eggplant.

Goes down jolly nicely served plain (no dressing) with Tuck's Ridge Chardonnay 2002!

I had never used George Foreman until I came to HK. I only discovered them because our first apartment was too small for a conventional grill. But now we are converted - we use the GF for sea bass fillets, fillet steak, etc and now hardly ever use the conventional grill in our new apartment.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Lolli (1064 days ago)

Hey, try this Aubergine receipe can do it on grill or baked
Cut side up, put all aubergine into big blow, pouring with olive oil, pinch of salt and pepper fresh thyme and 3 cloves of garlic. Mix them until every eggplant absorb the mixture.
put them into a baking tray, white part on top.
Bake until it turns lightly brown. Arrange eggplants on a platter and top with tomatoes. Drizzle with remaining oil and lemon juice.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by dands (1015 days ago)

BAKED EGG PLANT ...

HO!!!

It would be an ideal when make a baked egg plant like this way.
Cut them as a thick slices, add salt and let them absorb it for a while. Put stir fried mushroom, any ground meat (mix with salt , garlic & pepper) . Cover each egg plant slices using above filling .Add Olive oil all over the slices.Baked them at 180 degree till it get dark brown and now add cheese as you like over the top of the each slices, bake it for another 20 mints.....What a great taste!!!Enjoy , this is my own try.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by annebin (988 days ago)

Eggplant lasagna

Grill 8 whole eggplants then peel off charred skin, leaving the stem intact. Mash it with a fork to make it flat (like a lasagna noodle).

For the sauce, you can use either bottled marinara or bolognese, cooked with additional chopped onions tomatoes, green and red bell pepper and basil leaves. You may also add chopped zucchini and grated carrots.

Grease with cooking spray an 8x8 baking dish. As you would a lasagna, layer the eggplant alternately with the marinara then top with grated mozzarella, parmesan and colby (or whatever tasty cheese you like). Cut off the stems after layering. Finish off with a topping of grated cheese then bake in a preheated oven until bubbly. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Witley (986 days ago)

The reason that salt is (sometimes) added to egg- plants is to leach out any bitter juices. If following dands' recipe above, you must remember to rinse off the salt - and bitter juices - and pat the eggplant slices dry. If using smaller eggplants you can probably omit the salt step as younger ones don't always contain these juices.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by Pumpkin (986 days ago)

I always sliced, covered in salt then put a piece of kitchen roll over them and placed a heavy saucepan on top...leave for quite a while and be amazed at the amount of juice that comes out..then rinse them.
Mmmmm - parmigiani de melanzane.

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by shane_kath (935 days ago)

hi guys! have u ever heard grilled eggplant with scrambled egg & fry it?
that's yummy anyway!!! Mmmmmmm....

(I am based in Hong Kong)

Posted by marys (935 days ago)

will try that. to the original poster, try marinating your eggplant in a mixture of olive oil/lemon or wine vinegar/salt/herb before grilling. won't taste dry this way.

(I am based in Guangzhou)

Posted by defneloeffler (907 days ago)

wash them with lots of salt. no water. rub them with salt and squeeze out all the black water first, you will be surprised to see how much black nicotine filled water will squeeze out. then onto the pan, with olive oil, always a but sugar, and tomato/

if grilling, no need to wash, just put the eggplants onto the fire, one minute per side. then take away, peel, or gut the iside out, season, add olive oil and garlic. yum.

(I am based in Shanghai)