When it comes to cooking, braising is my favourite technique in the kitchen. What’s not to love? No need for a fancy non-stick pan, in fact a cheap clay pot for less than $5 from your local Chinese grocer will do the trick. You don’t even have to add oil: simply place all your ingredients in a pot and simmer over a low heat until all the ingredients are tender, sumptuous and luxurious to the bite. Yes, braising is a thing of beauty.
But if you thought braising was only for tough cuts of meat like pork shoulder, or a technique used only when trying to stretch your dollar further – think again. Braising is a great technique for vegetables, too, and eggplant is one of the rare vegetables that shines when braised all the way home.
I know what you are thinking – how can you braise a vegetable? Doesn’t an eggplant lose all its integrity, texture and structure? Doesn’t this break all the cardinal rules of cooking vegetables, where a simple spritz of hot oil brings a vegetable to life in a matter of minutes?
Banjaan borani is an Afghan braised eggplant dish, served with yoghurt dressing. Source: Alicia Taylor
Look around the world and my point is made: eggplants rightfully deserve their place in a braising pot. I invite you to remember the last time you had a really good eggplant dip.
Baba ghanouj, the silky soft eggplant dish is only great when the eggplant has been charred and blackened before the cook delicately scoops out the flesh to reveal a creamy interior. Sure, authentic baba ghanouj is not braised but roasted, but the very same technique of a slow simmer brings out the natural juices of the vegetable – turning a ho-hum baba ghanouj into a dip made for sharing.
In Japan, nasu dengaku follows a similar process: the eggplant is cut in half and slowly roasted in an oven with a miso glaze on top.
Miso-glazed eggplant (nasu dengaku). Source: Asia Unplated with Diana Chan
However, traditionalists will tell you that the absolute best way to cook Japanese eggplants is to braise them. The recipe known as nasu nibitashi involves slowly braising slender eggplants in a simple dashi and soy sauce broth before being served slightly chilled as a side dish. It's rarely found in restaurants and only eaten at home; my friends from Japan tell me that they love making nasu nibitashi because it involves almost no effort at all and is perfect in their tiny Japanese home. The kitchen remains spotlessly clean – no oil splattered on the counter and no scrubbing pots and pans after you're done. Bliss.
Look around the world and my point is made: eggplants rightfully deserve their place in a braising pot.
In Chinese cookery, eggplants prove they are best when braised.
Hong shao qie zi (紅燒茄子) is essentially braised eggplant – a dish you see in all Chinese restaurants with the eggplants smothered in a sticky, spicy, soy-based sauce, presented in a clay pot. My grandpa, who was a chef, made this dish by first flash-frying the eggplants, so they would hold their shape, before placing them in a clay pot with soy sauce, rice wine, other Chinese spices and braising them slowly over a small flame.
My latest toy in the kitchen is a decent, high-quality braiser. In this cooking vessel, I put long strips of eggplant and my grandpa’s hong shao qie zi ingredients with half a cup of water. I bring it to the boil, simmer for 5 minutes, before placing the lid on top and turning off the flame - allowing all the ingredients to cook slowly. Braised eggplants of this nature are best slow-cooked and ceramic pots replace my cheapo clay pots, because their induction works much more efficiently. Eggplants are like sponges – absorbing all the delicious flavours and aromas of the spices surrounding the vegetable. You can't argue for a better way to cook this nightshade.
Outside of Asia, braised eggplants are adored far and wide. Cooked with Lebanese baharat, the sweet and aromatic spices of cardamom, paprika and nutmeg help produce a soft and creamy eggplant stew. In Greece, it is hard not to fall in love with eggplant braised with trahana, with the Greek pebbly grain also soaking up all the tomato and garlicky goodness in this Cretan classic.
Eggplant braised with trahana, a mixture of dairy and grains. Source: My Greek Table
Yes, eggplant is definitely best when tenderly braised. Are you convinced?
Eat more eggplant
Eggplant braised with trahana
