People will find that eggplant absorbs a lot of oil during cooking. Here are three cooking methods to reduce the oil absorption of eggplant:
1. Cold-dressed Eggplant Strips Cut a long, thick eggplant in half lengthwise and crosswise, then steam it in a pot for 10 minutes. Remove and drain the water, but be careful not to squeeze out all the juice to avoid losing more nutrients. Then cut or, preferably, tear it into strips. Mix with salt, vinegar, minced garlic, sesame paste, and coriander leaves for a cold dressing. The sesame paste can be made slightly thicker to help lock in the excess moisture in 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. Add 2 teaspoons of cooking oil to a wok, add the eggplant dices and minced garlic, and stir-fry. Add a little vinegar at the same time. 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 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 with heat, and then quickly stir-frying it in oil. This avoids deep-frying and reduces the amount of oil absorbed.
The temperature for the first two cooking methods does not exceed 120°C, so they absorb less oil and also result in less loss of nutrients such as vitamins.