Chinese Soya Chili Steamed Eggplant Recipe

Soya chili steamed eggplant

This is an incredibly simple dish to prepare. Steam for 5-10 minutes and in the meantime mix together the ingredients for the sauce. Pour sauce over eggplant and eat. That’s all there is to it. 

Eggplants are usually roasted, baked or sautéed. The thought of eating steamed eggplant may not sound very appealing to some of us. I understand. Once you get past that psychological hurdle and actually try this, what you will experience is something which is surprisingly tender, moist and sweet. And not greasy at all.

This dish is generally called steamed eggplant or steamed aubergine. I decided to upgrade the recipe by giving it another name. To me soya chili steamed eggplant sounds a bit more appealing than steamed eggplant. And since we are humans, a change in name will probably make the dish taste better, even though it is the same thing.

Recipe adopted from With a Glass. I made some changes to suit what was available in my pantry. Please visit With a Glass for the original recipe and more detailed explanation. 

Soya chili steamed eggplant

Ingredients

1 eggplant

2 tablespoons light soy sauce

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar (original recipe suggests Chinese black vinegar)

1 teaspoon sugar

Chilli powder, to taste

½ teaspoon sesame oil

Directions

1. Slice the eggplant in half lengthwise. If you prefer you can cut them into smaller pieces, preferably at least an inch thick
2. Place the eggplant on a steamer and steam on high for 5-10 minutes
3. Mix all the ingredients together to make the sauce. Pour sauce over the eggplant.
4. You can eat it straight away or serve cold, its delicious both ways.

Orange Polenta Cake Recipe

 Orange Polenta Cake

I made this cake sometime ago and never got the chance to upload the recipe. Pictures were taken in a hurry. I can promise you that it tastes better than it looks. Polenta adds a pleasant grainy texture and the cake is super moist.

Orange Polenta Cake

Recipe source: unknown. I didn't make a note of the website, its possible that I used multiple sources.

Ingredients

1½ cups self-raising flour

½ cup sugar

½ cup almond meal (ground almonds)

½ cup polenta

2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind

1/3 cup orange juice

2 eggs, lightly beaten

2 tablespoons honey

½ cup oil

Orange syrup/glaze

½ cup sugar

½ cup orange juice

Directions

1. Heat oven to 180°C/360°F. Grease a 20cm x 30cm baking tray and line with baking paper
2. Mix together flour, sugar, almond meal and polenta. Add orange rind, orange juice, egg, honey and oil and mix to combine.
3. Transfer the batter into the baking tray.
4. Bake for 20 minutes or until a skewer inserted in the centre comes out clean.
5. Mix together the sugar and orange juice to make the syrup. Poke all over the cake with a skewer and pour the syrup

Peanut Butter Mango Chutney (Jelly) Bar Recipe

Peanut Butter Mango Chutney Bar Recipe

“Whoo! My first time doing a guest post!” (quote from Pings Pickings)

Opportunity knocks at every mans (and womans?) door. So when this guest post opportunity came knocking on my door I knew I had to grab it with both hands. Doing a guest post is an honor and great fun, though there is a constant worry. High standards need to be maintained, that’s not easy, and doing a post for Ping means the recipe, writing style and photography has to be top notch. I probably fell short in all areas but Ping kindly compromised her standards and accepted my efforts. Thank you!

I first saw the recipe for peanut butter jelly bar about 20 months ago, thats how long it took me to make it, albeit a variation. The bar was nice, the spiciness, saltiness and sweetness, combined with the crunchiness and biscuity (cookiey!) texture was like fireworks in the mouth. Please visit   PingsPickings for more details and so see other wonderful culinary delights and works of art.