The spongy flesh soaks up smoke flavor from a charcoal or wood fire and turns buttery without the use of much oil, which eggplant usually devours. Try to grill thin eggplant slices and you’re in for heartache; they go from lightly charred to incinerated in the blink of an eye. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the oil for brushing on the eggplant, and save the rest for another use. Step 2Prepare a grill (preferably charcoal) for a direct fire over medium heat (350 to 400 degrees). Adapted from “Flavors of the Southeast Asian Grill” by Leela Punyaratabandhu (Ten Speed Press, 2020).

Source: Washington Post July 19, 2020 14:03 UTC