Thai Barbecue Eggplant

This really is more Thai than Barbecue, but if we can combine the two well then, hell... everybody wins.

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 large eggplant

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1 clove garlic

1 small chili

100g palm sugar

1 tablespoon light soy sauce (fish sauce for all you non-veggie/Thai enthusiasts)

1 tablespoon fried onion (I omitted... too much work)

Fresh coriander/cilantro to serve


Method

1. Peel skin off the eggplant and cut lengthways into quarters.and then lengthways again until you make strips.

2. Heat barbecue plate or frying pan and add a few drops of olive oil. Cook eggplant until golden brown, turning fairly regularly.

Sauce

1. In a small bowl, heat the soy/fish sauce and palm sugar for 20 seconds in the microwave until dissolved.

2. Finely chop the chili and garlic and add to the bowl. Stir in the lemon juice last.

3. Taste sauce and ensure it has a good blend of salty, sweet and sour.


I served it with jasmine rice and it was awesome.

Recipe adapted from Yum Eggplant that appeared in The Courier-Mail. The recipe was originally from Mons Thai Ranaharn in Windsor.