Eggplant Stir fried with Thai Basil

                It was one of my childhood recipes that my dad cooked for us.  Usually my dad did not cook much, but when he cooked he always surprised us and this recipe is one of them.  Because when I was a kid I didn’t really like eggplant much, but my dad made eggplant at another level of tastiness.   

This is a vegetarian recipe.  All of the ingredients are almost like Thai basil stir fried, but you have a little soy bean paste( I have the details on a sauce blog) in it.  This dish tastes salty sweet.  Try it and you might find yourself in love with this dish like me!!!

Ingredients: 1 serving

2 Chinese eggplants or ½ Italian eggplants (cut into bite size)

½ cup basil leave

1 sliced fresh Jalapeño (optional)

2 globes chop garlic

2 tbsp. soy bean paste

1 tbsp. sugar

1 tsp. soy sauce

2 tbsp. water

1 tbsp. vegetable oil.

Cooking instructions

1.       Chop garlic

1.       Heat the pan at medium heat, when it is hot add vegetable oil then fried garlic until golden pull garlic off on the side for garnish later.

2.       Add eggplant, sugar, soy bean paste stir it well then add water and turn the heat down to medium low and cover it about 2-3 minutes or until the eggplant softens then add Jalapeño.

3.       Turn the heat off and add basil leave stir until mixed, then pour into serving plate then put fried garlic on the top and serve with steamed rice.

Thai Basil Roll

    

            Actually you cannot find this dish in a Thai restaurant in Thailand.  It is pretty much like Vietnam food in Thailand.  I saw this dish for the first time when I worked in a Thai restaurant in the USA.  I’m not sure how the dish came about, maybe this dish was fused with a Vietnamese spring roll, or one of the Thai restaurants invented it and it became popular.  Who know’s!!!  But I know how to make it… I got this recipe from one of my Thai restaurants that I used to work with.  Most of the ingredients are vegetables and rice noodle(for this kind if you want it like the restaurant use Japanese rice noodles, but if you can’t find it use angel hair) wrapped in rice paper with a choice of meat, but the famous is shrimp also you can use tofu and turkey.  The key of this dish is dipping sauce… (that the chef never told me but I found out and I will tell you the secret).  It’s a hoisin sauce with peanut.  Hoisin sauce is one of the Chinese dipping sauce is almost like plum sauce that you can find in an Asian section in a grocery store.  This dish is so delicate and healthy so you can eat as much as you want guilt free!!! 

Ingredients : make 5 roll

5 cooked shrimp cut into a half (you can use tofu or turkey)

uncooked rice noodle

cooked rice noodle

½ cup cooked rice noodle or angle hair (cooked like pasta)

½ cup bean sprout

½ cup shredded carrot

5 strip of romaine lettuce (cut into 2 inches long) 

10-15 basil leave or mint

rice paper warp

5 rice paper warp

2 cup warm water

Cooking Instructions

soaking a rice paper

1.       Soak a rice paper wrap into warm water about 8-10 seconds

2.       Lay paper wrap on the plate or on the cutting board

3.       Take shredded carrot, bean sprout, rice noodle about  1 ½  tbsp.  Arrange into the bottom of the paper wrap then put 1 romaine leave.

4.       Start by gently pulling bottom of the wrap over the ingredients, then tuck it under the ingredients.

5.       Fold both of the paper wrap sides.

6.       Put in 2-3 Thai basil or mint leaves then roll one more time then add 1 shrimp (cut into 2 pieces)  then roll it until the end

Shrimp cut into a half

7.       Cover the finished roll with a wet paper tower or plastic wrap

8.       Cut into 2-4 pieces serve with sauce

Dipping sauce

¼ cup hoisin sauce

2 tbsp. water

2 tbsp. crunched peanut

Cooking instructions

1.       In the small sauce pan add hoisin sauce and water lets it cook until boiling.

2.       Pour it into the dipping bowl top with crunched peanut.