serves
2
prep
10 minutes
cook
10 minutes
difficulty
Mid
serves
2
people
preparation
10
minutes
cooking
10
minutes
difficulty
Mid
level
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Crack!
Watch the full episode here
G
Watch the full episode here
G
Ingredients
- 1 long silken eggplant (see Note)
- 2 large red eschallots, unpeeled
- 2 large garlic cloves, unpeeled
- 4 small yellow cherry tomatoes
- 2 long green chillies
- 1 long banana chilli
- salt, to season
- 1 - 2 tbsp fish sauce, to season
- Roasted chilli powder, to season (see below)
Roasted chilli powder
- 1 cup dried birdseye or long red chillies
To serve
- crispy pork skin (see Note)
- stick rice (see Note)
- fried garlic
- Vietnamese mint and long leaf coriander (sawtooth)
- blanched cabbage
- baby cucumbers
If you are making the crispy pork belly, you will need to start between 1 day to 2 weeks ahead.
Resting time: 5 minutes
Instructions
- For the roasted chilli powder, toast the dried chillies in a wok or pan over a medium heat, stirring regularly to prevent scorching, until they have changed colour and are beginning to toast. Cool, then grind to a coarse or fine powder, as preferred, in a pestle and mortar or a spice grinder. This keeps well in an airtight container.
- Grill the eggplant over a chargrill pan, or flame, until tender. Thread the unpeeled eschallots, garlic, tomatoes and chillies onto bamboo skewers and grill until charred and softened. Allow to cool, then peel.
- De-seed the chillies (retain some seeds if you like heat!). Pound the peeled eschallots with a generous pinch of salt in a mortar and pestle to a coarse purée. Gradually add and pound the garlic, chillies, and finally eggplant.
- Season the relish with salt, fish sauce and roasted chilli powder to your taste. It should be salty, spicy and smoky.
- Spoon the relish into a serving bowl and sprinkle with fried garlic and herbs. Serve with cooked sticky rice, fried garlic, herbs, crispy pork skin, cabbage and baby cucumbers.
Notes
• Silken eggplants are long green eggplants. Alternatively, you can use Japanese (finger) eggplants.
• Pre-made pork crackle or store-bought prawn crackers can be used. Alternatively, to make the crispy pork skin, clean the pork skin, removing any hairs. Keep a little fat attached to the skin. Bring pork skin to the boil with cold water, salt and vinegar until cooked and tender. Remove and place on a rack to cool. Once cooled, cut into medium sized pieces. It doesn't matter if the pieces are irregularly shaped, it only adds to the aesthetic. Place the pork pieces uncovered in the fridge and allow the skin to dry out completely. This usually takes 1 or 2 days. After the pork has dried, heat a pot of oil and blanch the pork skins for about 4 or 5 minutes until it begins to bubble and is partially cooked. Remove from the oil and place on a clean rack to dry completely. This should take about 5 days. Turn occasionally. When ready to do the final cook, heat oil and fry pork skin to puff and achieve the finished result. If you don't have time to blanch the pork and dry for two weeks this step can be omitted. It gives the pork a much lighter, crispier texture as a result.
• To make the sticky rice, you will need 1 cup Thai glutinous rice. Before cooking, soak the rice in water for 6-24 hours. Drain then place in a double layer of muslin, gather edges to seal like a parcel. Place in a bamboo steamer over a pan of boiling water and steam for 20 minutes.
Photography by Jiwon Kim.
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Cook's Notes
Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.
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