Grilled eggplant salad
also known in our family as Mun River salad
Last December we visited Thailand.
My brother drove us to Thailand's eastern border with Laos and we stayed in a hotel on the banks of the Mun River, which flowed into the mighty Mekong just a few miles away.
(Yes, someone, not me, downloaded Audrey Hepburn singing Moon River from the film Breakfast at Tiffany's from YouTube and the song was sung daily.)
For four nights from 23-26 December we ate dinner on the hotel terrace, looking over the river to Laotian villages on the other bank. Between 8 and 10 p.m., as we drank our first beer of the evening and began to eat dinner, the lights went off on the other side as Laotian villagers prepared for bed. My favorite food in the hotel restaurant was a grilled eggplant starter; I would have eaten it every night but since food is traditionally shared in Thai meals, the other two protested, so we only ate it three times. Then we moved on and explored more of the region, and I forgot about the eggplant salad until I ate it again last weekend in a London restaurant. When I returned home I decided to make it myself.
You need one eggplant per person. If possible, grill on a barbecue since the smoky flavor of the fire makes this dish even more delicious but grilled under a hot grill, which is what I did on a German Tuesday evening in November, can be just as good. Once the eggplant is soft, approximately 15 minutes, scrape out the soft flesh and discard the skin. Mash the eggplant with salt, a tablespoon of freshly squeezed lime juice and half a tablespoon of fish sauce (from oriental groceries). Add some finely chopped mint and Thai basil.
This salad is always served with eggs. (Please use free-range eggs, they taste better, and it's better for your conscience and your soul.) The London eggs were softly boiled, or perhaps even steamed while the Thai eggs had been boiled harder. I boiled mine for just 5 minutes, so they were softish, like in London. And I served the whole dish warm . . . it was absolutely delicious.
If you like this dish, you might also like the standard mediterranean version:
Grill the eggplants as before then mash with salt, finely chopped garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. Serve as a side-dish with grilled or fried lamb chops.