This article provides some interesting information and tips for cooking eggplant. Most eggplant recipes consider the eggplant to be a vegetable but, the biologists classify the eggplant as a fruit. The eggplant readily absorbs the flavour of the other ingredients or seasoning in the dish. Read below for more suggestions regarding how to cook eggplant.

(a) There are many types of eggplants, ranging from the pea sized eggplant found in Thailand to longer eggplants that can grow to be over 10 inches long. Similarly, the color of the eggplant types also varies from green, whitish green, purple, very dark purple to almost black. Before you start shopping for the eggplant for your recipe, make sure that you understand which type of eggplant is needed for the recipe.

(b) Choose eggplants that are tender and fresh, such eggplants absorb less oil when fried. This becomes relevant for eggplant recipes that require frying of the eggplant. The eggplant by nature has a slight bitter taste to it, this is a flavor that most eggplant eaters like. However, choosing an overmature eggplant could make the bitter taste too strong.

(c) Recipe books recommend that eggplant pieces or slices be rubbed with salt before cooking. Do not blindly follow this step as the salting might not always be necessary. Salting is necessary only when the eggplant recipe requires the eggplant pieces to be fried AND the eggplant you choose is not very fresh and tender. The salt rubbing is supposed to reduce the oil absorbed by the eggplant. Fresh and tender eggplants do not absorb much oil when fried, so need not be salted. If you do rub salt on the eggplant pieces, remember to wash the salt away before using the pieces. These washed pieces should also be allowed to dry a bit before they are fried.

(d) In most recipes, you will notice that it is recommended to leave the skin on the eggplant pieces. This adds good texture to the eggplant and also enhances the flavour of the dish. However, certain eggplant recipes that require the eggplant to be roasted, will require you to peel the burnt skin from the eggplant. Read the eggplant recipe carefully for instructions before proceeding.

Get more information on the eggplant at this link: http://www.thaifood.food-recipe-cooking.com/eggplant-aubergine-vegetable-01.htm You can also see a more complete list of Thai food ingredients at this link: http://www.food-recipe-cooking.com/thai-food-ingredients-01.htm