Eggplant is abundant at our farmer’s market. Fat globe, long slender Japanese and petite tear drops in white, and purples adorn the tables. Eggplant is actually a fruit as it contains many edible seeds within its yellow flesh. Native to Nepal, India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka this fruit is used in culinary creations all over the world. Eggplant parmigiana is fried in Italy, baba ghanoush is roasted and mashed with sesame tahini, garlic, and lemon in the middle east, and eggplant is stewed in the French culinary classic ratatouille.

Eggplant can taste a bit bitter. If you aren’t making a dish that softens the flavor, slice the eggplant into 1/2″ slices length-wise. Salt the flesh on both sides and let rest 15 – 20 minutes. Rinse gently under cold water.

Eggplant also sucks up a lot of cooking oil. When sauteing, grilling, and broiling measure the oil required into a small dish and use a silicone pastry brush to apply it to the cut flesh prior to cooking.

My Chinese chicken and eggplant recipe tastes almost like PF Chang’s ground chicken and eggplant dish.  The ginger and garlic give this dish authenticity and depth. I can’t remember where I got this recipe. I think it is a mix of a few recipes out there. This one works best with globe eggplant you typically find at the grocery. And this recipe is modified to be sugar-free.

Chinese Chicken and Eggplant

Ingredients

• 1lb ground chicken
• 3t safflower oil, divided
• 1 large yellow onion, finely chopped
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2T ginger, peeled and minced
• 1/2 large eggplant (diced 1/2″, approximately 2C)
• 2 1/2T soy sauce
• 1T oyster sauce*
• 1T rice wine vinegar
• 1 1/2T agave nectar
• 1T black bean paste* (optional for a smoky flavor note, available at most Asian grocery stores)
• black pepper to taste

How To:

1. Place 2t of oil in preheated 10″ fry pan with a lid. Add ground chicken and use a wooden spoon to separate chunks as they brown. Remove chicken from fry pan with a slotted spoon and set aside. Discard extra oil and liquid in fry pan.

2. Place 1t of oil in pan and add onion, garlic and ginger. Saute until onions are translucent.

3. Add browned chicken, eggplant cubes and all the sauce ingredients: soy sauce, oyster sauce, vinegar, agave, black bean paste (optional), and black pepper to taste. Stir to coat all ingredients and cover. Cook covered until eggplant is soft and cooked through, stirring occasionally, approximately 8 minutes.

4. Serve with rice. Makes 4 servings.

*NOTE: this recipe is not strictly gluten-free, as most prepared black bean pastes and oyster sauces may contain wheat. Read labels carefully and know which ingredients could be suspect.