This is the sixth in a series on how to get by as a vegan or vegetarian in rural Korea. ― Ed.
The Asian eggplant (kaji) is a godsend. It’s not bitter, it’s slightly chewy, and it can be eaten raw, baked or soaked in oil if you want richness.
They’re usually three for 2,000 won ($1.73), in season. Out of season the price doubles, or even triples. So enjoy it while it’s around.
To best enjoy it, select well. No broken skins, nothing wrinkly or too soft: Any permutations of the skin are paths for disease, so examine the offerings.
Like any vegetable, you’ll get the most out of your purchase if you start with raw dishes and then ― as it becomes less firm ― cook the last few.
Eggplant, cucumber and carrot make a good salad. The eggplant will absorb the dressing, so keep your dressing light in flavor or the eggplant on top unless you really want a “full flavor” bite. Carrot gives a sweetness, and cucumber a clean crispiness; they complement each other well.
After that, start baking. Don’t have an oven? The toaster oven is your friend. Failing that, a dry fry can work, except you’ll lose some food to the bottom of the pan.
But to be honest, it is best fried in golden tasty artery-clogging magic. The eggplant will absorb all that fat, so get over the idea that vegetarianism is always healthy. Potatoes become potato chips, in all their nutritionally vacuous glory, and eggplant does the same, but with a regal purple hue.
If you’re going for a dish more complicated than just chips, cook the onions and garlic before the eggplant. If you’re adding tofu, add it before the eggplant because the eggplant will shrink as it loses water to the heat. Have the tofu about half-cooked before you add the eggplant.
The possibilities are endless. Had you added curry spices in the beginning, it could go that direction. Or you can make it East Asian using the mix of seasonings mentioned last week. But I personally lean toward tomatoes and pasta now.
The easiest sauce is store-bought. Perfect? Far from it. Flavorless? Not if you have spices on hand to add. Textureless? So chop a tomato and add it in; it’s much quicker than roasting. Stuck way out in the sticks? Then roast some tomatoes, because you may be on your own.
For enough sauce for a couple of “servings” of pasta, take about six tomatoes and a couple of cloves of garlic. Rinse, remove the stem and chop the tomatoes. Slice up the onion and put it all in the toaster oven, drizzled generously with olive oil, salt and pepper, turn the timer all the way up, and when it expires, repeat the timing at least twice (add more oil if it looks to be getting to dry, which it shouldn’t). For smooth sauce, blend it all in the blender. If you want more texture, don’t.
Add that to your eggplant, give it a few minutes to absorb the flavor, then add it to the pasta. Don’t have pasta? Rice is a fine carb. Sometimes you have to go native.
By Darren Bean!
Darren Bean! is a former prosecutor and lecturer in the department of Criminology at Chosun University. He can be reached at themagicbean@hotmail.com. The exclamation mark is part of his legal name. ― Ed.
