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Cooking : Spicy Steamed Eggplants

Eggplants are not favorites in this household because of its mushy texture and tangy aftertaste but somehow, the kids found this OK, despite the zing that comes with raw garlic. Yes, RAW garlic. The thing is that you need to mince the hell out of the garlic cloves so that it won't bite as much when YOU bite into them. Or you can prepare them ahead of time like some people do and leave it in the fridge for when you want to use them.

Despite the twang that raw garlic gives, there are health benefits to consuming them.
The active compound allicin only forms when garlic is crushed or cleaved when it is raw. If you cook it before crushing it, then it won't have the same health effects. Therefore, the best way to consume garlic is raw, or to crush and cut it and leave it out for a while before you add it to your recipes - Healthline
Some recipes (Korean mostly) call for EXTRA cloves of garlic when making this steamed eggplant dish because old folks claim that the more the merrier.

The thing with this recipe is that everything, including the eggplant, is already zingy. Including the red pepper flakes and fish sauce that it requires . So, if you want to tone things down a little, add a touch of sugar.

Otherwise, it's a fantastic way to consume eggplant, even for picky kids. I won't recommend it for toddlers (for obvious reasons) but if you're trying to encourage your kids to try out different foods and not be picky about the things you put on the table, challenge them. #lol


Love, Happy Cooking and Happy Feeding Your Family,
Marsha

The recipe is already on my Cookpad (Steamed spicy eggplant recipe) but here's the rundown, anyway. =)

Steamed spicy eggplant (brinjal)

It's simple, easy and healthy. Something I got from YouTube, don't ask me, I forgot who and where. Note : garlic i...more

  1. 2 large eggplants / brinjals
  2. 1.5 tbsp soy sauce
  3. 1 tbsp oyster sauce
  4. 2 tsp fish sauce
  5. 0.5 tsp salt
  6. 0.5 tsp pepper
  7. 1 tsp chili flakes / red pepper
  8. 1.5 tsp sesame seed oil
  9. 4 cloves garlic. Minced really, really finely
  10. 1 stalk green onion / scallions (chopped)

Method

  1. Heat up a pot of water and steam eggplants until soft but not mushy. Use fork to see if you can easily poke through. Approx 10 mins
  2. Remove eggplants and cool
  3. Mix sauces, garlic and scallions in a bowl
  4. Toss eggplant into mixture
  5. Serve up!
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