Sweet chilli eggplant with coconut rice

I love wok frying, a super hot flame, quick and delicious. Most Asian countries have some form of wok frying adapted to their ingredients and flavours. There are several advantages of wok frying: quick, easy, using less oil, the vegetables are crunchier and less cooked and hence more nutritious.

This is a lovely dish that is simple to make. I made the Thai sweet chilli sauce for this recipe. The eggplants are super soft and glazed with the sauce. The combination of sweet and spicy is perfect and addictive. You can adjust the amount of sweet chilli sauce you use for a milder or spicier dish; I personally like it on the spicier side.

This is a new cookbook on my shelf, one I have craved for a long time. The cookbook is from a chain of restaurants in London and across the UK. The recipes are very authentic, and they pop with flavours. Most recipes are super simple, and those I have made are always wonderful. You will see me cook from here again when I crave simple Thai cuisine.

For more recipes from this cookbook, click here.

Ingredients:

For the eggplant:

3 tablespoons oil

4 baby eggplants, quartered with their stem on

4-5 shallots, sliced thinly

4 garlic cloves. minced

1 teaspoon ginger paste

1 cup water

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon fish sauce (optional)

1-3 tablespoons sweet chilli sauce

Juice of 1/2 lime

Salt, to taste

Thai basil for garnish

For the coconut rice:

2 cups small grain rice, preferably Jasmine.

1 cup coconut milk

Water as needed

To make the eggplant: Heat the oil in a wok and add the eggplants. Cook on medium heat, ensuring the cut sides of the eggplant are on the bottom. Fry for 8-10 minutes, tossing occasionally until the eggplant is caramelized on both cut sides.

Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the shallots, garlic and ginger. Toss well and cook for 2-3 minutes till the ginger no longer smells raw.

Add the water, soy sauce, and sweet chilli sauce and cook for 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened considerably and clings to the eggplant. The sauce will have a sheen on the surface. Check the eggplants; they should be very tender and melt-in-your-mouth soft.

Remove from the flame, squeeze in the lime juice, and sprinkle salt. Toss well.

Wash the rice well in 4-5 changes of water till it is no longer milky. Add to a rice cooked with the coconut milk and water up to the mark. Cook as per the setting for sticky rice.

Serve immediately, garnished with basil leaves and the rice on the side.