People will find that eggplants absorb a lot of oil during cooking. Here, I recommend three cooking methods to reduce oil absorption in eggplants:
1. Cold-dressed Eggplant Strips Cut a long, thick eggplant in half lengthwise and then crosswise. Place it in a steamer for 10 minutes, then remove and drain the water. Note that you should not squeeze out all the juice from the eggplant to avoid losing more nutrients. Then, cut or preferably tear the eggplant into strips. Mix evenly with salt, vinegar, minced garlic, sesame paste, and cilantro leaves before serving. The sesame paste can be made slightly thicker to help lock in the excess moisture of the eggplant.
2. Stir-fried Eggplant and Tomato Dices Cut the eggplant into dices about the size of a finger joint. Crush the garlic cloves and set aside. Add 2 tablespoons of cooking oil to a wok. Stir-fry the eggplant dices and minced garlic, adding a little vinegar at the same time. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 minutes. When the eggplant softens, add salt, then add the diced tomatoes and stir-fry for a few more minutes before serving. Be sure to drain off any excess oil from the wok when plating.
3. Di San Xian (Three Freshes) and Braised Eggplant When making these two traditional dishes, you can use a method of first blanching the eggplant and then quickly stir-frying it in a small amount of oil. This avoids deep-frying and reduces the amount of oil absorbed by the eggplant.
The first two cooking methods do not exceed 120°C, so they absorb less oil and also result in less loss of nutrients such as vitamins.