Eggplant Stir Fry

You can get great eggplant this time of year. Eggplant though, is a vegetable that I have really struggled with in the past. Inspired by 'gorgeous-on-tv' recipes I have had only 'this-is-gross' experiences at home. But I'm getting better and this quick and easy stir-fry was certainly a success. Horde approved!

I modded a recipe from a book my parents bought for me a few year's back. A couple of friends from Hawaii have since recommended the restaurant, they say it's where they always send their tourist friends (which is a good thing, I think?). At any rate, it's a great little book with stunning photos of the food and approachable recipes.

I chopped a lb of tri tip strips quite small and marinated for a few minutes in hoisin sauce, ginger and a little soy sauce. Meanwhile I cut up one largish eggplant (I wanted to get some of those great pale japanese eggplants but my asian grocer was out) a couple yellow bell peppers and nearly a whole head of garlic (aw yeah).

Heating up the wok and a little oil to the smoking point I first fried a third of the beef until it was well seared and removed to a plate. Adding a smidge more oil if necessary I added a third of the eggplant and a third of the peppers and tossed for about five minutes until it was nearly cooked through. Then I added a spoonful of yellow bean sauce and the beef back and tossed it all together until the veggies were completely cooked. Turning off the heat throw in a handful of thai basil and give that a quick toss. Done!

I split this portion between the kids and readied the wok for another go round. Repeating the same steps Wife's portion was done in another 5 minutes and mine 5 after that (but to mine I added a generous portion of sambal badjak, I like it hot!!). Everybody takes a scoop of steamed jasmine rice on the side and we have a weeknight dinner done in no time.