Spicy Eggplant Salad With Sesame Oil

By David Tanis

Spicy Eggplant Salad With Sesame Oil
Karsten Moran for The New York Times
Total Time
40 minutes
Rating
5(344)
Comments
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This Chinese-inspired salad has complex flavors and is quite refreshing. At the market, choose eggplants that are firm and shiny; they will taste sweeter and have fewer seeds. Make it several hours ahead or up to a day in advance. It's best served at room temperature or cool.

Featured in: Honoring the International, Adaptable Eggplant

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Ingredients

Yield:6 servings
  • 2pounds small, firm eggplants
  • 1tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1tablespoon rice vinegar
  • Juice of 1 lime
  • 1teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1teaspoon brown sugar
  • 3garlic cloves, minced
  • 2tablespoons grated ginger
  • 1½teaspoons toasted sesame oil
  • 2tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 1teaspoon hot pepper oil, optional
  • 2tablespoons roughly chopped cilantro, plus sprigs for garnish
  • 6scallions, thinly sliced diagonally
  • 1thinly sliced serrano chile, optional
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (6 servings)

112 calories; 7 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 4 grams monounsaturated fat; 2 grams polyunsaturated fat; 13 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 6 grams sugars; 2 grams protein; 450 milligrams sodium

Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.

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Preparation

  1. Step 1

    Cook the eggplants in a covered steamer over rapidly boiling water until tender, about 10 minutes. Let cool, then peel. Put the flesh in a fine meshed strainer to drain excess liquid.

  2. Step 2

    Make the dressing: In a small bowl, whisk together soy sauce, vinegar, lime juice, salt and sugar. Add garlic, ginger, sesame oil, vegetable oil and hot pepper oil, if using.

  3. Step 3

    Put drained eggplants in a bowl. Using 2 forks, shred the eggplants a bit, then pour dressing over and toss, coating well. Leave to rest for 10 minutes, then taste and adjust seasoning.

  4. Step 4

    Just before serving, stir in chopped cilantro. Pile eggplants on a platter and sprinkle with scallions. Garnish with serrano chile, if using, and cilantro sprigs.

Ratings

5 out of 5
344 user ratings
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Comments

Andree Abramoff

On picking eggplants, I always go for the male eggplants that have fewer seeds, and are therefore less bitter than female eggplants. To tell them apart, one should look at the indentation on the bottom: if it's straight and shaped like a dash, it's female; if it's shallow and round, it's male.
I always get quizzical looks and giggles at the vegetable stands when I'm asked why I check bottoms and reply "I prefer the male eggplant!"

MRG

The idea that there are "male" and "female" eggplants is a nice piece of folk "wisdom" but it's not true that they differ by sex. Both are the product of the same type of sexual reproduction. Nevertheless, U. Ill. Extension experts say there is some truth to the idea that the differently shaped bottom dimples correlate with differences in seediness, just as AA says. See: http://extension.illinois.edu/veggies/eggplant.cfm

katy lesser

i grilled the eggplant (right out of the garden!!), chopped it skin and all, and dressed it with this wonderful gingery dressing. a great new way to use the immense eggplant harvest that is happening right now!

Christa

I roasted a big honking 2-pound eggplant whole in a 400-degree oven (pricked all over so it wouldn't explode) for an hour until it collapsed and the skin separated, then peeled it after it had cooled, which gave the salad a smoky flavor, and swapped the cilantro for Thai basil from my CSA share. I could live on eggplant salads all summer long and look forward to them every summer, and I love David Tanis' elegant and unfussy recipes.

Maureen

Okay, made this again. Steamed the eggplant 20 minutes to get it nice and soft, and then the skin peels off with a sharp-edged spoon. Also added a extra toasted sesame oil and a small amount of tahini instead of vegetable oil. Had it on toast, with avocado toast too - yum!

michelle

This was delicious! The recipe isn’t clear what type of eggplant to use but I used Chinese eggplants. I made a half serving for myself and ate it all in one sitting over a small bit of rice. I found the recipe quite quick, I steamed the eggplants while I was doing other chores and then the dressing took probably a total of 5 min to make. I didn’t let it sit for 10 min after mixing because I was too hungry, and thought the flavors still melded.

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