Steamed Aubergine (Eggplant)

2 medium aubergines (eggplants)
For the dressing:
2tsp sugar
4 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp sweet chilli dipping sauce
2tsp sesame oil
zest and juice of 1 lemon
4 spring onions, sliced
2 fresh red chillies, finely chopped
1 large handful of fresh coriander, roughly sliced
1 large handful of fresh basil, roughly sliced
1 large handful of fresh mint, roughly sliced
1 large handful of yellow celery leaves
salt and pepper

Slice the aubergines in half lengthwise, and steam cut side down for 10 minutes. Check that they are soft by giving them a little squeeze. Remove from the steamer to a colander till it’s cool enough to handle, then cut into 1 inch dice.
Mix all dressing ingredients together, and toss with aubergine.

I made this to go with the Steamed Pork buns Chinese style that I posted earlier. I remembered to take a picture of those this time too, here’s what they look like…



And here’s what they look like inside.



You can see that the boys like them.

These two recipes worked really nicely together, and the aubergine is so simple to make, it can almost be done as an afterthought. It’s also Jamie Oliver. It may be a touch sweet for some, and I think next time I would leave out part of the sugar, but it’s a really lovely combination of flavors. I would have never imagined using mint in a dish like this, but it’s all just really nice.