Disclaimer: As almost all of you know, Bigabyte wrote a brisket tutorial that is one of the most valuable resources on this website. It is especially valuable because of the attention to detail that he provides. Since all the good rants have been taken and I was too tired to write a "Cooking with the Bigabyte" episode, I decided to do an eggplant tutorial. This is meant to be taken light-heartedly.
Basic Eggplant Tutorial (part I):
I have seen a couple requests recently about eggplant tutorials from people who were thinking about making eggplant for the first time. There are some eggplant threads out there, but I thought a basic tutorial showing how to make a simple first-time eggplant would be nice to have. So I set out to make this here.
This "basic eggplant" I am talking about is a no-frills, just plain good-and-tasty eggplant without all the fuss with unnecessary techniques and preparations. I just leave it real basic here. These instructions will make a great eggplant every time with basically no chance of messing up, and absolutely no hard-to-understand directions that may cause lots of hard-to-answer questions to the first-time eggplant maker. If this is your first ever eggplant, and you simply want to know how to make a good eggplant right now, this could very well be for you.
The first time someone sets out to make eggplant, they have a ton of questions. Do I have to soak it in salt? What is the difference between an Asian eggplant and an Italian eggplant? Do I have to take out all the seeds? etc. I do not intend to answer all of these questions, but I will shed light on some of them and answer a couple.
The first question I am going to answer is, "What is an Asian eggplant?" Below you will see a picture of Asian eggplant straight from my local Asian market. You may see these in your local supermarket now as they are becoming popular.
Some eggplants will have little stickers on them, with the brand name of the eggplant, or simply a code number for the cashier to use. These eggplant did not have any stickers at all. I have not found any difference between different brands. However, sometimes I do forget to remove a sticker, which can leave an embarrassing uncooked mark. Be sure to remove any stickers before preparation. Good eggplant are fairly stiff and unbruised. Here is one side of the eggplant:
And here is the other side:
They look remarkably the same. I know some of you in the past have asked where exactly the tenderloin of the eggplant is located. In truth, the entire eggplant is the tenderloin. Sometimes I wish cows were more like eggplant, but then we wouldn't have brisket. The end of the eggplant sometimes has a little brown speck located on it:
If you don't like the look of it, you can trim it off. I usually don’t bother, but I am lazy. The other end is where the stem was attached. Unlike other fruit like tomatoes, there is a rough portion still attached quite firmly.
You can see this stem is still greenish. Sometimes stems get moldy and it is a good idea to avoid purchasing eggplant that have moldy stems. I do not eat the stems and remove them quite simply with a knife:
What I typically do to prepare the eggplant is to make long, thin slices. I usually cut the eggplant into quarters with a knife.
If you look inside, you will see tiny little seeds. These seeds do not need to be removed. In Asian eggplant, they are quite small and hardly noticeable. In Italian eggplant, they can be larger and can be gritty. This is one reason to grill the Asian variety. In addition, the Asian eggplant do not need to be salted. You can actually cook these with very little preparation. I am extremely lazy, so I prefer this option and recommend it for beginners. The next step in preparation is to oil the eggplant. This is not required, but I find that the eggplant cook much nicer if they are oiled. I use an extra virgin olive oil (EVOO). I do not use really good quality for these. I am always surprised at how much oil the eggplant soak up. They are like sponges. Here is what they look like when they are oiled:
Next I cook the eggplant on the grill. I typically do this at fairly high temperature, about 400*. It can be as low as 350* or as high as 500*, but I usually aim for this range. I heat the grill up and simply lay the eggplant on the cooking grate.
After a few minutes, usually about 3, but it may be more or less, I flip them over. I like to see some nice grill marks and some browning:
Notice that I have not skinned the eggplant. Some people may find the eggplant skin a bit chewy. This can be true especially with the Italian eggplant, but I do not find it bothersome for the Asian eggplant. I am also very lazy. After a few more minutes, the eggplant are done and can be removed.
These eggplant can be eaten just like this with a fork and knife. Sometimes we cook them a little longer and make them almost crispy and we eat them with our fingers, but I like them just like this.
I hope this was helpful for anyone who is thinking of making their first eggplant. If you have any questions, feel free to shoot me a message.
