. _ \
THE FRUGAL GOURMET

THE WONDERFUL egee-
plant, which the Greeks and
Romans now love dearly,
did not reach Itai¥ until the
14th century.

It arrived with a rather bad
reputation and was dubbed mela
insana, which means ‘‘bad ap-
ple.”

(Any strange or new vegetable
seems to have been called an apple
in those days.) .

The superstitious people of the
Middle Ages claimed the vegetable
was poison and would cause
severe fevers!

It took a while to catch on.

The Chinese, however, made
the plant very popular during the
Sung dynasty (10th to 13th cen-
turies}. ' :

At that time it was considered
very proper to nab the first egg-
plants of the season.

The popularity of the vegetable
has not decreased in China since
those days.

Today, as more and more peo-
ple learn to cook eggplant proper-
ly, it is gaining popularity in
Canada.

EGGPLANT WITH SOYBEAN
CONDIMENT AND HOIJSIN
SAUCE
(serves 3-4 as part
of a Chinese meal)

¥2 pound lean pork, cut julienne

1 teaspoon cornstarch

1 teaspoon light soy sauce

1 teaspoon dry sherry or Chinese
rice wine

t pound eggplant, cut into 42-inch
cubes

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons peanut oil
chowing

2 cloves garlic, chopped fine or
crushed

1 slice fresh ginger the size of a
25¢ piece, cut into slivers

4 green onions, slivered

1 teaspoon sesame ail

Y% teaspoon hot-pepper sauce
(such as Tabasco), or more to
taste

1 teaspoon soybean
(‘mein see’’) (find
markets)

1 tablespoon hoisin sauce (find in
Oriental markets)

Pinch of sugar

i tablespoon chopped Chinese
parsley for garnish

Mix the pork with the corn-
starch, soy and wine and set aside.

Mix the cut-up eggplant with
the salt and set in a colander to
. drain for 15 minutes. Rinse and

pat dry.

' Heat a wok and add 1 tabie-
spoon of the peanut oil.

Chow (stir-fry) the, pork until
just tender and remove from the
wok, Set aside.

for

condiment
in Oriental

st
i hei
Rte el aay OS

THE SUPERSTITIOUS Europeans of the Middle Ages claimed the eggplant was poisonous and
would cause severe fevers! The Chinese, however, made the plant very popular during the Sung

dynasty (10th to 13th centuries).

Heat the wok again and add the
remaining oi! and the garlic and
ginger.

Chow for a moment and add
-the green onions and drained egg-
plant.

Chow over high heat until the
eggplant is tender but not soggy.

Add the remaining ingredients,
except the parsley, return the pork
to the wok and chow until all is
hot and done to your liking.

Place in a serving bowl and add
the garnish.

EGGPLANT AND PORK
MANDAR-INN
(serves 3-4 as part
of a Chinese meal)

This dish comes from the Man-
dar-Inn restaurant in Chicago’s
Chinatown.

The recipe is very detailed and
you may think it is complicated. It
is not.

The dish will be even simpler if
you have everything ready, in-
cluding the mixed sauce, before
you turn on the wok.

MARINADE

VY. tablespoon cornstarch
t egg white

Y. teaspoon peanut oi!
Pinch of salt

Y2 pound pork, cut jalienne

4 cups peanut oil for deep-frying

1 pound eggplant, cut into ¥2-
inch-square sticks, 22 inches long
(i prefer the long thin Oriental
eggplant for this dish) ,

1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, chopped fine or
crushed

T tablespoon minced celery

1 tablespoon gartic and red chili
paste

MIXED SAUCE

1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

1 tablespoon light soy sauce

1 tablespoon oyster sauce

1 tablespoon dry sherry

1 teaspoon white pepper powder
% tablespoon sugar

¥%; cup chicken soup stock, fresh

NEWS photo Paul McGrath

or canned
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed
with 1% tablespoons water

GARNISH

1 tablespoon Chinese red vinegar
or cider vinegar

VY tablespoon sesame oil

2 green onions, chopped

Mix the marinade and soak the
pork in it for 10 minutes.

Heat the oil in a wok to 375°F
and decp:fry the marinated pork
for 1 minute.

Remove from the wok and
drain. .

Deep-fry the eggplant pieces for
2 minutes or until soft. Remove,
drain and set aside.

in another wok heat 2 table-
spoons peanut oil and stir-fry the
ginger, garlic, celery and chili
paste with garlic for about |
minute.

Return the eggplant to the pan
and add the cooked pork.

Chow for about | minute.

Add mixed sauce and soup

Thicken sauce with cornstarel
and water mixture.

Cook until the sauce clears and
becomes a glaze, about 1 minute,

Sprinkle eggplant with the
vinegar, sesame oil and chopped
green onions,

EGGPLANT SHOES
(makes 6 servings)

This wonderftlly rich dish reaily
looks like shoes — shoes filled
with a favor your whole family
will love,

You will find this dish in the
tavernas all over Greece,

3 medium eggplants, ench about 1
pound

2 tablespoons salt

2 yellow onions, pecled and sliced
5 tablespoons olive oil

3 cloves garlic, crushed

Freshly ground black pepper to
taste

2 cups tomato sauce

Cut the eggplants in half the
long way.

Salt them and allow them to
drain in a colander for ! hour.
Rinse and pat dry.

Dig out the eggplant meat to
form boats with a “%-inch layer of
eggplant, reserving the removed
eggplant.

Chop the reserved eggplant and
set aside to drain.

Saute the onions in 3. table-
spoons of the olive oil until
browned or even caramelized.
Remove from the pan and set
aside.

{n the remaining oil saute the
garlic, chopped eggplant and pep-
per to laste.

Place this mixture in the boats.
Top with 2 tablespoons of the
tomato sauce, then top with the
onions,

Place the remaining tomato
sauce in a. baking dish large
enough to take the ‘‘shoes.’’ You
may need to use two pans.

Set the shoes on top of the
sauce and bake at 350°F for 1
hour or until the eggplant is very
tender.

EGGPLANT SLICES BAKED

(serves 6 as a salad
or vegetable course)

This dish can be served cold or
warm, so it is versatile as well as
simple.

2 medium eggplants, each about 1
pound .

1 tablespoon salt

¥Y% cup olive oil

Suice of i lemoa

Yo teaspoon dried oregano, crush-
ed by hand

Freshly ground black pepper to
taste

Salt if needed

With a fork, score the eggplant
lengthwise. Cut into slices “4 inch
thick and sprinkle with the salt.

Drain in a colander for 1 hour,
then rinse with waier and pat dry
with paper towels.

Pan-brown’ the slices using “
cup of the olive oil.

When lightly browned, place on
a baking sheet and bake at 375°F
until very tender, Remove. and
allow to cool a bit.

Mix the remaining “% cup olive
oil with the lemon juice, oregano
and pepper. Dress the slices with
this sauce and test for needed salt.

BROILED EGGPLANT
WEDGES

In Rome the antipasti tables
often offer this dish. I! makes a
wonderful first course or salad
and can be made ahead, so it is
helpful at dinner parties.

See Wedges page 47