[montsnmags]

Vietnamese chargrilled eggplant, with pork, peanuts and tofu

[From one of the Spirit House Restaurant's cookbooks.]

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS

• 8 long, thin eggplants, quartered lengthways with stems intact
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

PORK and TOFU

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 4 sliced golden shallots
• 2 cloves garlic
• 400g pork mince
• 2 tablespoons fish sauce
• 1 tablespoon palm sugar
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 250g firm tofu, cut into 1cm/0.5" dice
• 2 tablespoons chopped, roasted peanuts
• 1 teaspoon roasted chilli powder
• 2 green shallots, sliced
• 1/2 cup chopped coriander leaves

METHOD

• Chargrill the eggplant over a moderate heat, brushing with oil until well cooked, for about 10-15 minutes
• Set aside and keep warm

For the pork and tofu, heat oil to a moderate heat in a wok
Add the golden shallots and garlic and stirfry until soft
Turn the heat to high and stirfry the pork mince until cooked
Add the fish sauce, palm sugar, soy sauce and tofu, and stir until combined
Moisten with a small amount of water if necessary

To assemble, place the eggplants on a plate and spoon the pork and tofu mixture over them.
Garnish with peanuts, chilli powder, shallots and coriander


(Note, we made it with the large, bell-shaped eggplants rather than the long ones. I'll let you know how it was, as I'm about to head downstairs to eat it. )

Cheers,
Marc