Spicy Eggplant Fries

I have no idea how eggplants, which have only entered my life up until recently, have made a dazzling impact on my palate. All of my youth, I avoided eggplants as if they were a plague, perhaps because of their mushy texture and the lack of adequate natural flavor. I hated them with a vengeance. I’ve had many encounters hiding from the dinner table when eggplant was announced on the menu.

These days, the wheel has turned around and eggplant has become a darling. I first ate it while attending cooking school last year, and since then, I’ve never stopped. There’s something imperial about them. Their bright, dark purple, polished skin, makes for a crispy texture, while the flesh is like a grade ‘A’ soft meat, melting between your tongue and the roof of your mouth. The trick in cooking eggplant is disgorging them. This salting action draws out the excess water content, hence giving it a firmer texture, one that resembles a french fry. I spiced them up with ground cumin, fennel, chilies, and white pepper, and served them with a spicy mayonnaise. Between the crispy skin and the smokey flavors from the flesh marinated in spices, these eggplants were just an abundance of life on my palate.

Spiced Eggplant Fries

Serves 3 as a side

Ingredients:

For the spice mixture

1 teaspoon of white pepper

1 teaspoon of fennel seeds

1 teaspoon of cumin seeds

3-4 dried red chilies

Ground the spices in a spice grinder and set aside in an air-tight jar.

For the Spicy Mayonaise

3 tablespoons of mayonnaise

1 teaspoon of spicy chili paste (sriracha) or sambal belachan

Juice of 1 lime

Whisk all the ingredients and set aside.

For the eggplants

5 baby eggplants

Peanut oil for deep-frying

Method:

1) Slice the eggplants lengthwise. Make sure you have a good thickness. Salt them on both sides and let them rest on a wired rack for 10-15 minutes. Bubbles of water will soon start to form.

2) Pour enough oil into the pan for deep-frying.

3) Wipe out the excess water from the eggplants. Slice them into thick strips.

4) Toss the eggplants with the spices and drop them into the frying pan.

5) Do not overcrowd the pan. If necessary, fry the eggplants in several batches to ensure consistency.

6) Remove the eggplant with a slotted spoon and set on paper towels on a tray.

7) Sprinkle salt and enjoy them with the spicy mayonnaise.