A delicious Thai eggplant (aubergine) salad!
Ingredients
- 200g long eggplant (aubergine)
- 100g medium prawns
- 50g minced pork
- 30g shallots, thinly sliced
- 1 egg, hard-boiled
The Dressing
- 2-5 Thai Bird’s Eye chillies
- 2-3 cloves garlic
- 2 coriander roots
- 2 tsp white sugar
- 1 Tbsp garlic pickle water
- 2 Tbsp lime juice
- 1 Tbsp fish sauce
Directions
- Grill the eggplants on charcoal (or salamander) on high heat, or broil them at 220 degrees C for about 10 minutes or until the skin is blistered and you are able to insert a skewer through them easily.
- Set aside to cool completely or place them inside a paper bag so the skin will come off very easily when peeled.
- On medium high heat, cook minced pork in a saucepan with a tablespoon of water. Keep stirring until it’s cooked through. Set aside.
- In a small pot, quickly blanch the prawns in boiling water for 5-10 seconds or until they just turn pink. Reserve a couple of tablespoons of the prawn broth to add to the dressing as needed; set aside. (Another variation is that you coat the prawns lightly in all purpose flour and deep fry them. This will add a different texture to the dish but it is best to fry them right before serving to preserve the crispiness.)
- To make the dressing, pound chillies, garlic, coriander roots, and sugar together in a mortar and pestle until there is no big chunk of garlic. Add lime juice, garlic pickle water, and fish sauce into the mortar. Add a tablespoon of the reserved prawn broth. Use the pestle to swirl around to mix well and dissolve all the sugar.
- Peel the eggplants and cut them into 2.5 cm or bite size pieces.
- In a medium mixing bowl, add the eggplants, pork, prawns, and some of the dressing. Toss lightly and taste. Add more dressing as desired, or add some prawn broth if you prefer a lighter flavour.
- Plate up and serve, top with boiled egg wedges and coriander leaves.
