THAI GRILLED BRINJAL SALAD

Thai Grilled Brinjal Salad aka Yum Ma-khuea-yao in Thai.

This salad looks good, isn't it? Has anyone tried cooking brinjals/eggplant this way? I have eaten often brinjals/eggplants in curries, deep-fried, steamed and in omelette but haven’t tried grilled brinjals.  Out of curiosity, I wonder whether it takes a longer time to cook brinjals by grilling. Surprisingly, it isn’t. Just leave them to grill over low heat, the brinjals turned soft and you can even remove the skin.

I believe this is a healthy salad too as it is fat free except that you have to add the sugar sparingly because Thai food is usually on the sweet side. Anyway, the sweetness with this portion is acceptable to me. Tastes savoury, sourish and spicy. The combination of ingredients blend well into an appetizing salad. A simple salad like this can earn a Thumbs Up from my hubby. I was surprised and of course happy, too.

Perhaps, you can give this a try to know this dish better and of course to enjoy it like I did.

Recipe adapted from Healthy and Easy Thai Cooking [my this month's selected cookbook for Cookbook Countdown Event #10]

Ingredients
1 long brinjal – cleaned and dried
1 hard-bolied egg – shelled and cut wedges
2-3 shallots – thinly sliced
2-3 garlic – thinly sliced
1-2 small red chilli – chopped
1-2 tbsp fried prawns – rinsed several times and dry fried in a wok, set aside
Dressing [mixed until sugar dissolves]
2 tbsp fish sauce
3 tbsp lime juice
2-3 tbsp sugar
Some mint leaves and coriander leaves for garnishing

1. Grill brinjals in a dry wok until brinjals are cooked, turning constantly to ensure even cooking.
2. Set aside to cool before removing the skin [you can leave the skin intact if it isn’t charred], then sliced.  Arrange on serving platter and add in the eggs.
3. Mix well shallots, garlic, chillies and dried prawns together and spread over brinjals.
4. Drizzle dressing over ingredients and garnish with mint leaves and coriander leaves.
5. Serve immediately.
   
   

Notes: The eggs and dried prawns can be replaced by boiled chicken or other meats.

I'm linking this post with Cookbook Countdown #10 hosted by 

Kitchen Flavours and Emily's Cooking (Makan2) Foray