Eggplants are NOT eggs that grown on plants !
As my little son used to be so confused to understand why adults keep calling eggplants, EGG-plants. "It does not even TASTE like egg, mommy !".
Eggplants have a very interesting history. It's originally Asian, despite being known in Europe for a long time. Thomas Jefferson, the third president of the US was a big fan, who cares, right ?! Ok, but the fact is that there are so many interesting writings about it's history that I put the recipes on a side for a while.
Here are some of the ways people cook eggplants across the world : INDIA Baingan Bharta is a favorite Indian curry made by first roasting the eggplants until very soft. The flesh is scraped from the skin and combined with tomatoes, onions, and garlic, then slowly cooked with fresh and dried coriander, cumin, turmeric, and other spices until thickened and richly flavored. EUROPE in general Europeans like to scoop out the flesh of the eggplant leaving the uncooked rind. They roast it and mash it with salt, pepper, and butter. Then they spoon the mixture back into the rind, and bake it. TURKEY In Turkey, eggplant cubes are threaded onto shish kebab skewers along with chunks of lamb. Another beloved dish of this region is Imam Bayildi, an onion and tomato stuffed eggplant seasoned with garlic and olive oil. The country is so enamored with eggplant, the Turks claim to have 40 different ways to prepare it, including "the poor man's caviar," a roasted, mashed eggplant seasoned with onions, tomatoes, lemon juice, and salt. Eggplant ITALY Italians serve Eggplant Parmigiano as their entrée and often begin their meal with an appetizer of Caponata, a robust mixture of sautéed bite-sized eggplant cubes, capers, chopped green olives, onions, pine nuts, and bell peppers in olive oil and red wine vinegar. FRANCE In France eggplant becomes Ratatouille, a delicious vegetable stew that includes zucchini, bell peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, and herbal seasonings. CHINA The Chinese cut the long, slender purple wonders into irregular shapes and stir-fry them with basil, or prepare the eggplant in a spicy Szechuan style. MIDDLE EAST A favorite of Middle Eastern cooks is Baba Ghanoush, an appetizer that combines roasted eggplant with sesame tahini, garlic, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt. USA Americans like to cut their eggplant into thick slices, dip them into a batter, and fry them in oil. JAPAN Slices of eggplant dipped in tempura batter and deep-fried until crisp is a familiar addition to the Japanese Tempura Plate. GREECE and others Moussaka, a layered casserole featuring sliced eggplant, lamb, and béchamel sauce, is a favorite dish in Greece, Turkey, and Romania. SPAIN The Spanish create en escabeche, a pickled eggplant made with small whole fruits that are round, and white.
My favourite way of eating eggplants is close to a Zen kind of feeling. It's better prepared with Japanese eggpalnts, they are thinner and longer shapped. Also have a bitterness that can be easily removed by soaking the raw eggplant in water.
"Nasu no Nibitashi" (なすの煮びたし) is a cooking method of braising the veggetable with seasoned broth ("dashi" with soy sauce and ginger). Leaving and cooling ingredients in the seasoned broth is the key to absorbing flavor well. As it hardly uses any oil, it is a very healthy way of cooking.
