Ultimate Fried Eggplant (Aubergine)
"This recipe appeared in Gourmet about 15 years ago, and I've adapted it slightly. It's just amazing how the cornstarch eliminates the greasiness without diminishing the flavor at all. This is the basic version, but you can definitely jazz it up by adding Italian seasonings, grated Parmesan, etc. I never bother 'sweating' the eggplant when preparing it this way, but you may prefer to."
- Ready In:
- 30mins
- Ingredients:
- 6
- Serves:
-
4
ingredients
- 1 large egg
- 1⁄2 teaspoon coarse salt, plus extra for sprinkling
- 1⁄3 cup cornstarch
- 1 cup breadcrumbs (fresh is best, but the packaged kind is fine)
- 1 small eggplant
- vegetable oil
directions
- Beat egg in a small bowl along with 1/2 teaspoon salt.
- Put cornstarch in a second small bowl and breadcrumbs in a third.
- Cut eggplant crosswise into slices approximately 1/2-inch thick.
- (If you prefer thinner slices, that will work fine, but you may need additional cornstarch and bread crumbs to get everything coated well.) Dredge each slice in cornstarch, coating thoroughly on both sides.
- Tap gently against the side of the bowl to knock off excess.
- Dip eggplant in beaten egg, coating each side lightly but thoroughly.
- Dredge in crumbs, pressing firmly enough that the breading sticks.
- Allow coated eggplant to dry briefly on paper towels.
- Pour enough oil in a heavy skillet to cover slices about halfway.
- Heat to 375 degrees.
- Fry eggplant for one to two minutes on each side, until golden brown.
- Drain on paper towels and sprinkle lightly with salt.
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Reviews
-
I used the long Japanese eggplants. We enjoyed this. I made quite a mess though. Worth it because it was not greasy at all. -
Delicious. I made this exactly as described except I used seasoned breadcrumbs. Easy and totally yummy. Thanks highcotton - -
I have try them all, but this is the best so far, The only thing one should use is olive oil,First press it helps the favor, And i'm not saying the favor is bad, With the corn starch the oil stays cleaner longer, and the bread crumbs stay on the egg plant, and not in the bottm of the pot,If I had more stars I would give it a six to Seven stars,Excellent -
Simple, easy recipe for eggplant. Goes together easily and is very tasty. -
made this once and it is sooo good! it wasn't soggy or anything
see 5 more reviews
RECIPE SUBMITTED BY
Forgive me, but I must go on a rant here. You see, what I love is cooking. What I HATE is unfair reviews!
* If you despise one of the major ingredients, why in the devil would you prepare it?
* If you haven't made it/tasted it, what on earth would make you think your input is valuable?
* If your grocery doesn't have something or it's not in your pantry, how assinine is it for you to say, "I deducted a star because I couldn't find/didn't have (fill in the blank)"?
* If you have young children and the recipe includes hot seasonings, how stupid is it for you to say "It was so spicy my kids couldn't eat it"???
* If your review reads something like "My whole family went berserk they loved this so much and they've demanded that I serve it at least once a month!", how can you possibly feel comfortable that you gave the recipe 4 stars?
* If your every instinct tells you there's too much salt, too much garlic, too much hot sauce, too much whatever for your family's taste, why don't you just use your common sense and cut back instead of telling us it was too salty, too garlicky, too spicy, too whatever?
* If you're a food snob, how fair is it for you to rate a recipe that calls for 'cream of --' soup or garlic powder or margarine or dried parsley flakes and say it didn't come up to expectations?
* If you regularly use 'cream of --' soup and have never bought a head of garlic or a fresh bunch of Italian parsley in your life, how fair is it for you to substitute commercial products for fresh and say you were disappointed in the results?
* If you limit/eliminate your intake of certain food products, whether for physical or philosophical reasons, what makes you think you have the right to try to impose your restrictions on the rest of us?
* If you've never shared a recipe, why should your opinion of ours matter?
* If you're from Texas and automatically give 1* reviews for chili recipes that include beans, may I suggest you get over yourself?
* Last, but most assuredly not least, if the
'zaar program that does the calorie counting screws up, does it really make you feel good to slam the recipe poster?
Just askin'...
So, what do I think constitutes a fair review? Here's my take on the issue...
1) I try to judge a recipe 'in context'. If it requires a special trip to a gourmet food market... and if the ingredients cost a bundle... and if I have to spend a lot of time and effort preparing it... well, yeah, I hold it to a higher standard. In that case, it needs to be perfection itself to rate 5*. On the other hand, if a dish is quick and easy and fairly inexpensive, and everybody goes back for seconds and tells me how much they enjoyed their dinner -- well, I have no problem giving that recipe an excellent rating as well. Comparing dinner party possibilities with weeknight family meals is a silly apples/oranges thing. There are 5* dishes in *both* categories!
2) Some seasonings are super-personal. Salt, garlic and spicy things are probably the source of more negative comments on this site than anything else. Tone it down -- or ramp it up -- based on your intimate knowledge of your family's tastes. If any of the above are slightly too much/too little for us, I do not deduct a star. After all, the poster wasn't at fault -- my judgment was. (I do make an exception if the given amount of an ingredient is way over the top and really ruins it...)
3) I am willing to admit that I might be at fault. If a recipe has 8 great reviews but it was a flop for me, should I rush to submit a poor rating -- or should I maybe consider that it was slightly above my skill level? Or that maybe I misread the directions? Or maybe mismeasured the ingredients? If my results were totally at odds with several other reviewers', I make the dish a second time to be sure.
4) Hurt feelings are not good. Most of my reviews are extremely positive. If you think I go overboard with 4* and 5* reviews, let me assure you that I have tried many, many more recipes on this site than those for which I have submitted a critique. If it's just goshawful, yes, I'll say so. If a recipe was submitted by one of the superstar chefs around here and I find it to be seriously lacking, I don't hesitate to post negative comments. But to say hateful things about a recipe that some newbie just posted? Oh, that is sooo lame!!
5) The "authenticity" thing leaves me cold. Who cares if your Polish (or Ukranian or Italian or German) grandmother wouldn't have been caught dead using a certain ingredient in an ethnic dish? Hey, maybe her grandmother came from a different part of Poland (or the Ukraine or Italy or Germany) where using it was common. Imho, the only criterion on which it should be judged is taste.
6) And then there's the matter of substitutions. Hmmm... Debatable. For the most part, I think that if the substitution (or elimination) of an ingredient works, then it's fine to post stars. Just indicates that the recipe is adaptable to personal tastes/needs. But if the result is negative, I think it's only fair to post a 'comment', without stars.
