Cooking Eggplant: Helpful Tips and Suggestions

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Eggplant is a popular food item used in a variety of dishes. It is of Asian origin with early varieties that are bitter to the taste. However, crossbreeding and cultivation resulted to an improvement in its flavor. In addition, you can use it in cooking different types of recipes whether it is in casseroles, stews, or several others.
Cooking eggplant has never been very simple with the wide choices of recipes that you can find. You can also include spices in the dishes such as chili powder, thyme, parsley, and bay leaves for a unique aroma. Most eggplant recipes use onions and tomatoes to attain an exquisite flavor.

Eggplant Preparation

Some problems arise when cooking eggplant such as the bitter taste and the excess absorption of oil. You can eliminate these concerns with proper preparation prior cooking. For instance, you can peel the skin from the flesh when you plan to roast the eggplant whole. Since the skin is tough, it is ideal to remove it completely.

A great way to improve the taste is by purging or salting the eggplant. This process gets rid of the excess juices that cause the bitterness. When you purge the eggplant, this will also compress and desiccate the flesh to prevent too much absorption of oil. You can purge the eggplant by peeling it, cutting it into chunks and applying salt on all sides. Then, leave the eggplant slices in a colander for about an hour. Afterwards, rinse the eggplant slices and dry with a clean cloth.

Cooking Eggplant

Cooking Eggplant: Tips

When you have purged the eggplant, you are now ready to start cooking it. You can choose from various ways of cooking eggplant including the following options.

1. Roasting

When roasting, make sure that you prevent the eggplant from falling apart and appearing soggy. You can do this by keeping the skin intact. Cut some slits in the skin, insert one clove of garlic into the slits, and drizzle olive oil on the skin. Then, bake the eggplant on a roasting dish for half an hour. You may remove the skin after roasting, and you can opt to puree or mash the roasted eggplant.

2. Grilling

Another method of cooking eggplant is by grilling it. All you need to do is to brush the eggplant slices with oil. Then, grill the slices under medium heat for about 7 to 8 minutes on each side. When the slices have golden brown color, you may remove these from heat.

3. Frying

This is a simple method in cooking eggplant. However, you need to purge the eggplant before cooking to obtain a great taste. Proper preparation is also necessary to make sure that the eggplant will not soak up much oil. Slice the eggplant and cook it in hot oil. Turn the eggplant slices regularly to prevent burning, and remove from heat when the flesh has a golden brown color.

Bottom Line

There are several options that you can consider when cooking eggplant. Make sure that you peel, purge, and cook the eggplant correctly to ensure the right taste and texture. By following these tips, you can expect to make the best eggplant recipes that your family will love.