Eggplant is one of the few purple vegetables and is highly nutritious. Regularly eating eggplant (including the skin) is beneficial for preventing and treating high blood pressure, arteriosclerosis, cerebral thrombosis, and age spots.
There are many ways to cook eggplant, but most methods involve high temperatures and long cooking times. This not only makes them greasy but also results in significant nutrient loss. Frying eggplant can lead to a loss of over 50% of its vitamins. Among all cooking methods for eggplant, making mashed egg salad is the healthiest.
Hand-torn Eggplant Salad
First, mashed egg salad requires the shortest heating time—just steaming it over high heat—thus minimizing nutrient loss. Second, it uses the least amount of oil; after steaming the eggplant and mashing it, you only need to drizzle a little sauce. Lastly, this method allows for the most complete absorption of nutrients because the skin is not removed, and the eggplant skin is rich in many bioactive substances.
The best sauce for mashed egg salad is made with olive oil, sesame paste, minced garlic, and a little salt. Olive oil is a healthy oil, sesame paste is rich in calcium, protein, and vitamins, and minced garlic has antibacterial and anti-cancer properties.