Eggplant Salad_wordsmith
I used to hate eggplant. Brinjal, as we call it here. It was mushy and squishy, like a mashed up lizard or frog, or snail. And it was tasteless. And a yucky purple when cooked. Who eats yucky purple not-quite-vegetable thingies? So I grew up not liking it very much. Until I learned to like the taste of belacan. Then, I didn’t mind squishy yucky purple because anything cooked in belacan pretty much rocks, big time.
But then I came across this eggplant salad a couple of months ago, and it pretty much blew my mind on eggplant and its possibilities. Lightly grilled, tossed with cashew nuts, onion, stirfried pork mince, lemon, with a light sprinkle of dried chilli flakes and egg hard boiled to an orangey perfection; what really surprised me was the burst or flavour and texture. Kinda like a well-behaved, classy yet fun party happening in the mouth. My gosh. I was completely in love with eggplant. How is that possible?
Culinary creativity. Nothing beats the diversity that exists in Asia. I had this lovely little secret surprise in Bangkok, in a completely unassuming, almost mundane eatery where the waiters spoke no English. On that trip, the shopping was overshadowed by the quality of the food. I love the splashes of colour, tangy flavours, sour tones, spicy and light nature that pretty much characterises Thai food.
This eggplant salad is not quite typical Thai and yet is as Thai as you can get at the same time. All I can say is, viva la purple squishy almost-vegetables.
