Thai eggplant
{{Short description|Name for several varieties of eggplant used in Southeast Asian cuisines}}
{{EngvarA|date=March 2021}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2021}}
{{distinguish|text=Yellow-fruit nightshade, sometimes also referred to as "Thai eggplant"}}
Thai eggplant ({{langx|th|มะเขือ}}, {{RTGS|makhuea}}) is the name for several varieties of eggplant used in Southeast Asian cuisines, most often of the eggplant species Solanum melongena.{{cite web|url=http://www.plantnames.unimelb.edu.au/new/Sorting/CATALOGUE/Pt2-Asian-eggplants.html|title=Know your eggplant-Asian species, types and cultivars|publisher=unimelb.edu.au/|access-date=27 September 2014}} They are also cultivated in India and Sri Lanka and feature in Sri Lankan cuisine. These golf ball-sized eggplants are commonly used in Thai cuisine, Indonesian cuisine, and in Cambodian cuisine. Some cultivars in Thailand include Thai Purple, Thai Green, Thai Yellow, and Thai White.
Uses
= Culinary =
The green-white varieties of Thai eggplants are essential ingredients in Thai curry dishes such as in kaeng tai pla,{{cite web|url=http://jeabsveggies.com/thai-vegetables.html|title=Jeab's veggies|publisher=|access-date=27 September 2014|archive-date=23 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160123190321/http://jeabsveggies.com/thai-vegetables.html|url-status=dead}} green{{cite web|url=http://importfood.com/recipes/gaengkeowwan.html|title=Thai Green Curry with Chicken & Eggplant|work=ImportFood.com|access-date=27 September 2014}} and red curry. They are often halved or quartered, but can also be used whole, and cooked in the curry sauce where they become softer and absorb the flavor of the sauce. They are also eaten raw in Thai salads or with Thai chili pastes (nam phrik).{{cite web|url=http://highheelgourmet.com/2013/08/30/authentic-spicy-thai-green-papaya-salad-som-tam/|title=Authentic Spicy Thai Green Papaya Salad : Som Tam|work=The High Heel Gourmet|date=30 August 2013 |access-date=27 September 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.abc.net.au/tv/pohskitchen/stories/s3327579.htm|title=Nam Prik Ong (Pork and Tomato Relish) - Recipes - Poh's Kitchen|website=Australian Broadcasting Corporation |publisher=|access-date=27 September 2014}}{{cite web|url=http://www.templeofthai.com/food/fresh/thaieggplant-8200000242.php|title=Thai Apple Eggplant|work=Temple of Thai|access-date=27 September 2014}}
Sometimes, in Thai restaurants outside of Thailand, Thai eggplants are replaced by locally available eggplants.
In Cambodian cuisine, they are often served raw with dipping sauce or cooked in stews.{{cite book |last1=De Monteiro |first1=Longteine |last2=Neustadt |first2=Katherine |title=The Elephant Walk Cookbook: Cambodian Cuisine from the Nationally Acclaimed Restaurant |year=1998 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=0395892538 |page=283}} One of the most popular Cambodian steak sauces known as tuk prahok is made with the green-white variety{{Cite web|url=http://angkorchef.com/2019/12/steak-with-prahok-salsa/|title=Steak with Prahok Salsa|last=Laux|first=Channy|date=2019-12-27|website=Angkor Chef|language=en-US|archive-url=|archive-date=|access-date=2020-01-01}} ({{Langx|km|ត្រប់ស្រួយ|translit=trob sruoy}}).
In the Philippines, they are used in Ilocano cuisine, specifically in the dishes of pinakbet and dinengdeng. Boiled eggplant is frequently served with soy sauce and calamansi or dipping sauces made from bagoong, a fermented fish or shrimp paste.
Gallery
File:Thai eggplant flowers-KayEss-2.jpeg|The flowers of the Thai eggplant
File:Thai eggplant fruit-KayEss-2.jpeg|The fruit of the Thai eggplant. The white residue on the leaves is common.
File:Makhuea - Thai eggplant.JPG|A purple-white type of eggplant used in Thailand
File:Kaeng tai pla34.JPG|Kaeng tai pla with Thai eggplants and bamboo shoots
File:2013 Tam Lao.jpg|The eggplants are often eaten raw in Thailand, for instance in som tam Lao
File:Phla nuea makhuea on.jpg|Phla nuea makhuea on is a Thai salad of medium rare beef and nearly raw sliced Thai eggplant
File:Nam phrik kapi 2.jpg|Yellow and white makhuea pro (Thai eggplant) in the background, fritters made from makhuea muang (purple eggplant) in the foreground, served with nam phrik kapi, a chili paste containing makhuea phuang (Thai pea-sized eggplants)
See also
- List of Thai ingredients
- Solanum torvum ({{RTGS|makhuea phuang}}) for the pea-sized eggplants used in Thai cuisine; sometimes substituted by green peas outside of Thailand{{cite web|url=http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/619435|title=Question about local ingredients... does anyone put peas in their Thai curry?|work=CHOW|access-date=27 September 2014|archive-date=3 December 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141203175523/http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/619435|url-status=dead}}
- Lao eggplant
- Vietnamese eggplant
References
{{reflist}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Thai Eggplant}}
Category:Cultivars originating in Thailand
{{Vegetable-stub}}
{{Solanales-stub}}
{{Fruit-stub}}