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Do you remember the Steamed Eggplant dish from Hunan Chilli King ? Well apparently it's been on the Missus's mind. Because of work, and our just plain busy schedules, it doesn't seem like we'll be able to get to the SGV for a while. So the Missus ordered requested that I try my hand at making the dish. It's really not that difficult, this is just your basic Chinese steamed fish dish, using eggplant instead of the fish. There are some nuances, but you'll spend most of your time waiting for the eggplant to finish steaming.

I made this twice over the past week, and what follows are mostly notes, and guidelines.

First off, I used four Japanese Eggplants, the main reason being I don't have a very large steamer, and I could arrange the eggplants in the shape of the plate. Making the first recipe, I added five whole cloves of garlic, one thumb size piece of ginger sliced into a thin julienne, and 2 tablespoons of fermented black bean that had been rinsed. I found that the ginger pretty much got lost in the whole steaming process. So making the second recipe, I placed the eggplant into the steamer with just the black bean and garlic. The garlic becomes soft and tender, and really tastes very sweet eaten whole.

So what of the ginger? I end up adding the ginger during the last ten minutes of steaming, along with 4 sliced serrano chilies. I tried adding the serranos at the end, but they tasted a bit too "green". The ten minutes of steam time softens them, and makes them sweeter. Those red chilies are added after steaming. I bought them frozen at Lucky Seafood….. they are pretty spicy.

The eggplant was first sliced in half lengthwise, than half again. They steam for about forty minutes.

While the eggplants are steaming, you can make the sauce. I start with a basic recipe of 1/4 cup superior or premium soy sauce to 1-1/2 tablespoon of white sugar. In this case, I did a double recipe. After mixing well to dissolve the sugar, I tasted and adjusted the sweetness. To finish, I drizzled in about 1/2 teaspoon of sesame oil. Add the sauce to the eggplant during the end of the steaming process.

Meanwhile heat peanut oil until smoking. Bring the steamed eggplants to the table a pour the hot oil over the eggplant. You'll have some nice "sizzle-vision" going on…..

I noticed that the skin on the Japanese Eggplants are very soft and tender, the eggplant is creamy….. you'll need to good amount of rice as well.

I had bought a pound of lump crab meat to make something relatively quick on Wednesday. A frittata, or even some quesadillas. When the Missus found out about the Crab meat, She put in Her two cents. She wanted Crab Cakes. Crab Cakes? I didn't even think She liked Crab Cakes, and She hadn't requested that before. I still pushed the fritatta issue, but in the end, you know what happened, right? She got Her Crab Cakes. And it took me less than 20 minutes to put together and get to the table. Not the prettiest Crab Cakes, but the Missus really enjoyed them:

I also knew that I needed a sauce, so looking through the fridge, I came up with a Wasabi Mayonnaise, it's so simple, I don't dare call it an aioli. It really turned out to be easy, and I used only items I had on hand. I placed the Crab Cakes on Purple Perilla leaves I had leftover from the Missus's Bun we had two days earlier. I first made the Wasabi Mayo, mixed the ingredients, and placed it in the refrigerator to allow the flavors bind. Not wanting to wrack my brains with too many measurements I kept things simple as you'll see. I think you can stretch the recipe by adding more panko, and even put other filler/flavoring items, smoked corn, minced jalapeno, and celery come to mind.

Quick MidWeek Crab Cakes:

1 lb lump crab meat
1 cup Panko
1/2 cup Mayonnaise (Hellman's or Best Foods)
1 Egg slightly beaten
1 tsp Old Bay seasoning
1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp Malt Vinegar
1/4 cup thinly sliced scallions
Canola Oil

– Gently combine ingredients.
– Gently form the mixture into about 6 patties
– Heat 1/2 cup Canola oil over medium heat.
– Fry the crab cakes about 2-3 minutes each side.

Wasabi Mayonnaise:
1 cup Mayonnaise
2 Tb Wasabi Paste
1 clove garlic finely minced with some salt into a fine paste
a squeeze of lemon juice

– Combine ingredients and place in the refrigerator to set.

Funny thing, the Missus and I eat a pretty good variety of foods. But since we usually stick to the Asian end of things, we found the Crab Cakes to be delicious, but very rich. I could only eat 1, so perhaps I'll need to cut the mayo and increase the panko next time.

Well, summer has just left out the door, and we decided to make the best of Labor Day by doing a bit of grilling. The Missus wanted some Bun (rice vermicelli) for dinner with grilled shrimp. She wasn't quite sure how She wanted the shrimp prepared, and just told me "try not to make it suck", which is better translated into "I'm craving this, so whatever you make better not suck……" So when I offered two possibilities, either Tamarind Shrimp or Lemongrass Shrimp, the Missus said to make them both.

I was kinda glad She chose the Tamarind Shrimp, as I had this bottle of Tamarind concentrate lying dormant in the cupboard waiting to be tried out. It had been an impulse buy God knows how many months ago. I usually will do the tamarind pulp thing, reconstitute in hot water into a paste, and strain out the pulp, and I really wondered how this would measure up. It actually did pretty well. It is perhaps a bit weaker than the stuff I make from scratch, but it worked perfectly fine on the shrimp.

The Tamarind Glazed Shrimp is a riff of Alan Wong's Tamarind Glazed Shrimp Tacos recipe in his book, Alan Wong's New Wave Luau. I added fish sauce and sriracha to give it a more savory and spicy kick. BTW, for those who think that Kalbi Tacos is something new, Alan Wong's been serving that stuff up since the late 90's, and there's a recipe in his book.

The Lemongrass Shrimp was based on a recipe from Mai Pham's Pleasures of the Vietnamese Table but has been modified to our taste, more garlic, fish sauce, and chili paste.

I realized when the shrimp were done that although they taste very different, it's hard to tell them apart:

The Tamarind Shrimp (on the left) have a nice shiny sheen from the basting, while the Lemongrass Shrimp (on the right) looks a bit drier. In the end, the Missus preferred the flavors of the Tamarind Shrimp. If you're using wooden skewers, don't forget to soak in water for about a half hour before using.

Tamarind Glazed Grilled Shrimp

1/2 Cup Tamarind Concentrate or Tamarind Paste
1/2 Cup Water
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/4 Cup Lemon Juice
2 Tb Honey
2-3 Tb Sriracha
3 Tb Fish Sauce
Sea Salt
1 lb 16-20 Shrimp, shelled, deveined, tail left on – skewered

– Combine all ingredients except salt and shrimp until sugar has dissolved.
– Lightly salt shrimp with sea salt.
– Place shrimp on the grill over direct heat (I use combo hardwood and Kiawe charcoal), and brush with Tamarind Glaze.I was surpised at the amount of basting liquid, but did use it all up with constant basting.
– Grill for about two minutes on each side. Baste one final time with glaze just before removing from grill.

Lemongrass Shrimp

4 Stalks of Lemongrass outer layers removed, pounded with the knife to release oils, and minced (about 1/4 to 1/3 cup).
3 Cloves of Garlic minced finely
1 Tb Soy Sauce
2 Tb Fish Sauce
1 Tb Chili Paste
2 Tb Sugar
2 Tb Canola Oil
1 lb 16-20 Shrimp, shelled, deveined, tail left on

– Combine all ingredients except shrimp in a bowl until sugar has dissolved.
– Add shrimp and gently mix until all the shrimp are coated with marinade.
– Place in refrigerator for 15-20 minutes to let shrimp lightly marinate.
– Thread shrimp onto skewers.
– Grill over direct heat for about two minutes each side.

You really don't have to do the "Bun thing", but the Missus really enjoyed it…….