Cherry Eggplants (Or Whatever You Call Them)

[Jingthing]

Yes, I know, Thai cooking times are very quick and that's an odd feature of the cuisine. However, these cherry eggplants are widely used, and they commonly come way too undercooked. Is this laziness (they could cook them longer first, and put in other ingredients later) or by design? In other words, do Thais consider the undercooked cherry eggplants proper?

[bkkjames]

Apparently they do JT. 

[Jingthing]

I am not convinced. still think it may be laziness. I have noticed a pattern in the better, pricier Thai restaurants that they are cooked longer, and don't arrive almost raw. Being that I mostly eat in low cost Thai restaurants, I don't have a lot of evidence to go on. Which is why I am asking. Don't get me wrong, I don't like overcooked mushy vegetables either, but with these eggplants you would have to cook them a really long time to get to mushy. Competent cooks know different ingredients require different cooking times, in the same dish.

I have noticed the same pattern with potatoes in Thai yellow curry. The potatoes often arrive very undercooked. I can't imagine anyone really likes near raw potatoes.

Edited June 18, 2010 by Jingthing

[bkkjames]

Are those the one's about the size of a golf ball or those really bitter tiny pieces of turd?

[Jingthing]

The tiny ones (Makuea Poo-ung).

The bigger ones are called Thai Eggplant (Makuea Praow). The bigger ones pictured here. Asking about the tiny ones because that's what I usually get. I also cook with them myself and find they can take boiling for half an hour. They could boil a bunch of them first for later use to avoid the problem, again, if it is seen as a problem. It's just weird to me to get a supposedly cooked curry with a main ingredient that is raw. I understand leaves on top being raw but not a cooked ingredient.

Edited June 18, 2010 by Jingthing

[bkkjames]

Never liked those tiny ones. too bitter.

[Jingthing]

Yes they are bitter but to me really taste much better when not raw. I like bitter foods. Bitter melon is one of my favorites.

[AyG]

The purpose of adding pea aubergines to a curry is to add texture and bitterness. The crunch texture is what is wanted - it contrasts with the softer cooked meat and sauce.

So, yes, Thais do consider the undercooked pea aubergines proper.

[p_brownstone]

The purpose of adding pea aubergines to a curry is to add texture and bitterness. The crunch texture is what is wanted - it contrasts with the softer cooked meat and sauce.

So, yes, Thais do consider the undercooked pea aubergines proper.

I agree.

The whole point of undercooked Makheua Pooang is the "crunch" factor and the fantastic burst of flavour when you bite into them.

Fully cooked I imagine they would be bland and quite tasteless.

Patrick

[Jingthing]

Some more points. I never said I think the buggers should be cooked to mushiness. Like Thais, and most people who like good food, I certainly appreciate crunchiness and a variety of textures in the same dish. Also, of course, vegetables in general should not be overcooked.

However I still remain unconvinced about this cherry eggplant question.

In the same types of dishes, green beans are often used, perhaps instead of the eggplants.

These are generally also served cooked lightly and crunchy. Such beans are PLEASANT cooked that way.

The eggplants are HARD AS STONES. Served nearly raw, they are extremely hard.

Last night I used them in a simmer stew for 30 minutes and the shells were STILL hard. Still, I think the ideal cooking time for these hard things is probably around 15-20 minutes. This is of course much longer time than typical Thai cooking.

These eggplants are served raw in nam prik presentations so yes of course they can served raw, and Thai people like them raw in that context.

However, I still question the raw ones in a cooked curry. Do you agree with me that raw potatoes in a Thai yellow curry is a bad thing? What's the difference? Different ingredients required different cooking times. The time it takes to cook these eggplants and the potatoes conflicts with quick quick Thai cooking culture, but that still doesn't mean serving them undercooked is correct. Can you imagine these eggplants being served so raw in a cooked curry at a Thai Royal Cuisine restaurant? I can't.

[theseahorse]

I've always been told that they are supposed to be only lightly cooked and the idea is that the bitterness of the pea aubergenes/ eggplants (Makuea Poo-ung) balances out the spicyness of the dish in the same way that very spicy nahm-priks are eaten with raw (so very bitter) apple aubergenes/ eggplants (Makuea Praow).

Personally a few in a dish adds flavour and texture, but when you get a dish that is full of them it's too much for me.

[tutsiwarrior]

I was just with the MiL and during our chat she hauled out a kilo bag of small eggplants that she had recently collected at the old family house...they were from the bushes that she had planted an' they pretty much grow like weeds...

she ripped one open to display the texture and I was compelled to put one down the hatch...it would do nicely in a salad on it's own with a simple dressing...

we were drinking vodka and was I attempting to feel up her withered but substantial bones...good cuisine is always distracting and she knows that I like to cook...an unusual subterfuge to fend off unwanted drunken advances...

[sabaijai]

The purpose of adding pea aubergines to a curry is to add texture and bitterness. The crunch texture is what is wanted - it contrasts with the softer cooked meat and sauce.

So, yes, Thais do consider the undercooked pea aubergines proper.

It's true. When they become soft, they're considered overcooked.

In Thai restaurants that cater to tourists, however, they often cook them till soft, as it's widely known in 'tourist Thailand' that farang don't like them semi-raw.

It's easy enough to eat around them, and they still add some flavour to the dish.

Do you agree with me that raw potatoes in a Thai yellow curry is a bad thing? What's the difference?

Kaeng karee kai, the kind of curry that contains potatoes, is more or less a direct import from India (not that kaeng kiaw-waan doesn't have Indian influence as well but it has been modified more to fit Thai tastes, I would say, than kaeng karee kai). The better places for this dish in Bangkok (in Bang Rak, for example, where Thai Muslims do the best), do cook the potatoes completely. In this case I would agree that if the potatoes in the curry are semi-cooked, the dish has been incorrectly cooked by local standards.

Come to think of it, I've mostly come across the semi-cooked potatoes at restaurants that also tend to screw up other dishes. University cafeterias are a good example (although they do some dishes well). For me, kaeng karee kai is a dish that should only be risked in places that specialise in the dish. When I first lived in Bang Mod and taught at KMIT, a couple of ajahns would take me once a week to a Thai Muslim restaurant nearby where it was perfect.

A couple of weeks ago I tasted the best kaeng karee kai I've ever had anywhere. It was at a roadside tables-and-cart place on Soi Oriental, right between The Oriental and the ABAC/cathedral complex. Highly recommended.

In summary, pea eggplants semi-raw: standard (by Thai standards); semi-raw potatoes in a curry: non-standard (by Thai standards)

[zzaa09]

I am not convinced. still think it may be laziness. I have noticed a pattern in the better, pricier Thai restaurants that they are cooked longer, and don't arrive almost raw. Being that I mostly eat in low cost Thai restaurants, I don't have a lot of evidence to go on. Which is why I am asking. Don't get me wrong, I don't like overcooked mushy vegetables either, but with these eggplants you would have to cook them a really long time to get to mushy. Competent cooks know different ingredients require different cooking times, in the same dish.

I have noticed the same pattern with potatoes in Thai yellow curry. The potatoes often arrive very undercooked. I can't imagine anyone really likes near raw potatoes.

As a rule, thrap, are taken a bit undercooked - by design. But then, there are applications that are use with this said vegetable that tend to be way overcooked to the point of being mushy. There is no standard.