Have you ever had a dish haunt you through the years? Lately I've been thinking about a wonderful dish, "Thai Shrimp and Eggplant", I used to order several years ago at Thai Bistro in Canton. I just reviewed their on-line menu and don't see it. Perhaps the chef could make it upon request, but I thought I'd attempt recreating the dish from home tonight.

I let the freshness of the eggplant available dictate which eggplant to use. I was looking for long, purple Asian eggplant but the freshest eggplant available today were smaller black eggplant.

The tender flesh of the Asian purple eggplant would have been a better choice for this recipe but they felt too soft. If you use the Asian eggplant varietal, there is no need to salt or peel the eggplant.

Thai basil lends authenticity to the dish and is available in the frozen section of Tsai Grocery. This is delicious served with steamed white rice but the ultimate would be serving this dish with Thai Coconut Purple Sticky Rice, from a previous dinnerFeed. As well, I've a Thai soup recipe that would be a wonderful precursor to this meal; I would, however, omit the chicken and substitute with tofu if serving before shrimp.

Yield: 4-6 servings Rest Time for Eggplant: 30-60 minutes Active Time: 45 minutes Cost: apx. $20.00 (using frozen shrimp purchased on special for $9.99#)

Ingredients

8 cups eggplant (3 small), washed and cut into cubes 3-4 tablespoons peanut oil 1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined 2 teaspoons garlic 1 tablespoon lemon grass 1 tablespoon chopped ginger 2 tablespoon fish sauce 1-2 tablespoons red chili curry paste 1 (14.5) ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes with green chilis 1 tablespoon Thai basil 1 tablespoon cilantro

Directions

1. Arrange eggplant cubes on paper towels or a clean cloth. Lightly season with kosher salt and let excess moisture drain 30-60 minutes. 2. Heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium high heat in a large sauté pan. When oil is hot but not smoking, quickly cook shrimp until browned but not cooked through, about 45 seconds on each side. Remove and reserve. 3. Reduce heat to medium, add 2 tablespoons oil to pan and sauté garlic, lemon grass, ginger and eggplant 4-5 minutes or until eggplant is lightly browned, adding additional oil if necessary. Stir in fish sauce, 1 tablespoon curry paste and diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil then reduce heat to medium-low; simmer until eggplant is tender, 20-30 minutes. Add additional curry paste to sauce, if desired. 4. Reheat shrimp and Thai basil in sauce, and serve garnished with cilantro.