Spicy Eggplant Dip with Lime & Cilantro
Grilling the eggplant gives this dip a smoky flavor that's truly delicious. Serve it as chef Yia Vang does with balls of purple sticky rice for scooping up the dip or along with your choice of vegetables for dipping.
Ingreadients :
- 1 ½ pounds Japanese eggplant, halved
- 3 tablespoons canola oil, divided
- 2 tablespoons chopped shallot
- 2 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
- 2 Thai chiles, coarsely chopped
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
- Juice of 1 lime
- 2 teaspoons fish sauce
- 2 teaspoons oyster sauce (see Note)
- Crushed roasted peanuts for garnish (optional)
Step by Step :
- Preheat grill to medium-high.
- Brush cut sides of eggplant with 1 tablespoon oil. Grill the eggplant, cut-side down, until charred, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip and grill until softened, 3 to 4 minutes more. Transfer to a cutting board. When cool enough to handle, scoop the flesh out of the skins (discard the skins).
- Combine shallot, garlic, chiles to taste and salt in a mortar. Mash with a pestle into a coarse paste. Add cilantro and mash to combine. Add the eggplant flesh and mash to combine. Mix in lime juice, fish sauce, oyster sauce and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil. (Alternatively, place shallot, garlic and chiles to taste on a clean cutting board. Using the tines of a fork or the side of a chef's knife, mash into a coarse paste. Add cilantro and mash until bruised. Place the eggplant flesh in a medium bowl and coarsely mash. Add the cilantro mixture and mix well. Add lime juice, fish sauce, oyster sauce and the remaining 2 tablespoons oil; mix until well combined.) Garnish with peanuts and more cilantro, if desired.
