Fire-roasted Eggplant

This hauntingly addictive smoky fire-roasted relish can be scooped up with nearly anything—fresh veggies as described below, or grab a bag of chips and start scooping. Thai relishes, nahm prik, play a supporting roll to the rest of the meal. I have used fish sauce instead of the pungent more often used shrimp paste, gkapi. For an in depth look at nahm prik variations look to David Thompson’s essential book, Thai Food.

Serves 4–6
 Preparation time: 7 mins
 Cooking time: 15 mins

4 Chinese or Japanese long eggplants (about 1½ lb/750 g)

4 red finger-length chilies

4 shallots, not peeled

6 cloves garlic, not peeled

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons fish sauce or soy sauce

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves (cilantro)

RAW VEGETABLES FOR DIPPING— choose a few of the following

Cucumber slices

Green cabbage wedges

Long beans or green beans

Thai small green eggplant wedges

Asparagus

1 Grill the eggplants, chilies, shallots and garlic until charred and cooked through or arrange all on a baking sheet, place under preheated broiler on the highest setting with rack as close as possible to burner. Broil until everything is semi-charred and cooked through. Cool to room temperature. Peel off the skin and charred surface.

2 Transfer the chilies, shallots, and garlic to a mortar or food processor and processed to a semi-smooth paste.

3 Roughly chop the eggplants with a knife and combine in a bowl with the chili mixture. Season with the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and coriander leaves. Taste and adjust seasoning with fish sauce and lime juice—it should be salty-sour and spicy.

4 Serve in a bowl with the Raw Vegetables For Dipping, ornately arranged.

1 Arrange the eggplant, chilies, shallots, and garlic on a baking sheet and grilled until charred.

2 Process the chiles, shallots, and garlic to a semi-smooth paste.

3 Combine the chili mixture with the chopped eggplant.

Grilled Tofu Curry

Tofu, a canvas for other intense flavors, revels in a bath of deep red spicy coconut curry. When walking through Bangkok’s Chinatown, yellow stained tofu pouches are stamped with red Chinese characters highlighting the maker of the tofu, a quick brush of turmeric lends a vivid yellow color. Buy the firm or extra-firm tofu that is packed in water, you may want to slice them before grilling.

Serves 4–6
 Preparation time: 10 mins
 Cooking time: 20 mins

1 lb (500 g) firm tofu (about 4–6 pieces)—drained and dried well

½ teaspoon sea salt or kosher salt

2 tablespoons oil

¼ teaspoon turmeric powder

1 cup (250 ml) coconut milk (divided use)

2 tablespoons red curry paste

¼ cup (65 ml) vegetable stock/broth

1 tablespoon Thai palm sugar or light brown sugar

1 tablespoon fish sauce or soy sauce

1 cup (120 g) fresh peas (substitute sliced snow peas)

1 cup (100 g) red bell peppers, sliced into strips

1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

½ cup (15 g) Thai basil leaves

3 kaffir lime leaves, vein removed, cut into very thin slivers (substitute 1 teaspoon finely grated lime zest)

1 tablespoon minced coriander stems (cilantro stems)

1 Sprinkle the tofu evenly with the salt. Whisk the oil and turmeric together in a small bowl, then use this mixture to brush on all surfaces of the tofu. Set aside.

2 Heat ¼ cup (65 ml) of the coconut milk in a small saucepan or skillet over medium-high heat. Cook, stirring constantly, until it reduces by about half and thickens considerably and begins to separate (about 3 minutes). Mix in the curry paste and cook for an additional minute. Pour in the remaining coconut milk, the stock, sugar, and soy sauce, and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to simmer for 5 minutes. Taste the sauce and adjust seasoning with soy sauce, salt and/or sugar.

3 Preheat grill or oven broiler until very hot. Make sure to clean the grill well, then wipe the grill grates lightly with oil. Grill the tofu, creating deep grill marks on both sides, you could also simply sauté the tofu until golden brown. Arrange in a wide bowl, or on a plate with steep sides, to hold the sauce.

4 Stir the peas and bell peppers into the curry. Simmer for 30 seconds, add the lime juice and stir in the basil leaves until wilted. Spoon the curry over and around the grilled tofu. Garnish with kaffir lime leaf slivers and coriander stems.