Aubergines

Appears in
Fusion: A Culinary Journey

By Peter Gordon

Published 2010

  • About

In India, it is often referred to as the ‘king of vegetables’, and it’s no wonder as it is such a brilliant ingredient. Just like the tomato, it’s actually the berry of a fruit from the nightshade family - it’s not technically a vegetable. Unlike the tomato, potato and chilli (all members of the nightshade clan), the aubergine originates not in the Andes, but in India where they’re called brinjak. In Australia they’re known as eggplant, Italy names them melanzano and Thailand has makreua. These days a lot of the bitterness associated with the more usual violet- and-purple-skinned variety has been bred out, and they can be cooked without disgorging them. However, some still need to be sliced and soaked in cold salted water to help remove this trait. In Thai cuisine, the bitterness can in fact be one of the appealing aspects to them, especially for the pea-eggplant. You’ll find these added to rich coconut curries, and when you bite into one of them it creates a wonderful contrast to the curry, but perhaps one that takes getting used to. Thailand also has the maeuk, a hairy golden eggplant that is lovely eaten raw in salads - just make sure you scrape the hairs off with the back of a knife before slicing and serving straight away before it discolours.