Vegetables Recipes - Thai Salad of Eggplant and Shrimp Recipe

Ingredients

• 8 round white eggplants

• juice of 1/2 lemon

• 4 small handfuls Asian salad leaves

• 7 oz peeled cooked jumbo shrimp

• cilantro leaves, to garnish

For the dressing:

• 1 tablespoon muscovado sugar

• 3 tablespoons warm water

• 1-2 small red chilies, seeded and very finely chopped

• 1 tablespoon nam pla fish sauce

• 1 teaspoon soy sauce

• 3 tablespoons lime juice

Serves 4 as a first course

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Method:

1. Trim and quarter the eggplants, immediately dipping them in lemon juice to prevent browning.

2. Arrange the leaves, shrimp, and eggplants attractively on individual plates. Garnish with cilantro leaves.

3. To make the dressing, put the sugar and warm water in a small bowl and stir to dissolve the sugar. Add the remaining ingredients, stir again, and spoon over the salad.

Note: The idea for this recipe came from Sri Owen, who kindly allowed us to include a dressing from her book Healthy Thai Cooking. We have used the beautiful whitish-green apple eggplants available from Thai stores. They are mildly flavored and delicious raw, as here, but if you prefer your eggplants cooked, brush the segments with oil and broil for a few minutes. If you can't get hold of Thai eggplants, use a small ordinary purple one instead. Slice it thickly, brush with oil, and broil, before cutting into bite-sized segments. For the Asian salad leaves use baby bok choy and mizuna, or other dark green leaves such as baby spinach, arugula, and com salad.