When cooking, you'll find that eggplants absorb a lot of oil. Here are three cooking methods to reduce oil absorption:
1. Cold-dressed Eggplant Strips
Halve a long, thick eggplant lengthwise and crosswise, then steam it in a pot for 10 minutes. Remove and drain the water, being careful not to squeeze out all the juice 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. 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 the size of a finger joint. Crush the garlic cloves and set aside. Heat 2 teaspoons of cooking oil in a pan. Add the eggplant dices and garlic, stir-frying, and add a little vinegar. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 2 minutes. When the eggplant softens, add salt, then add small pieces of tomato and stir-fry a few times before serving. Be sure to drain off the excess oil when plating.
3. Di San Xian (Three Fresh Vegetables) and Braised Eggplant
When making these two traditional dishes, you can use a method of blanching first and then quickly stir-frying with oil, avoiding deep-frying, to reduce the amount of oil the eggplant absorbs.
The first two cooking methods do not exceed 120°C, resulting in less oil absorption and relatively less loss of nutrients such as vitamins.