Thai eggplant ( th, มะเขือ, ') is the name for several varieties of

eggplant Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mos ...

used in

Southeast Asian cuisine This is a list of Asian cuisines, by region. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with a specific culture or region. Asia, being the largest, most populous and culturally diverse continent, ...

s, most often of the eggplant species ''

Solanum melongena Eggplant ( US, Canada), aubergine ( UK, Ireland) or brinjal (Indian subcontinent, Singapore, Malaysia, South Africa) is a plant species in the nightshade family Solanaceae. ''Solanum melongena'' is grown worldwide for its edible fruit. Mo ...

''. They are also cultivated in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

and

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

and feature in

Sri Lankan cuisine Sri Lankan cuisine is known for its particular combinations of herbs, spices, fish, vegetables, rices, and fruits. The cuisine is highly centered around many varieties of rice, as well as coconut which is a ubiquitous plant throughout the coun ...

. These golf ball sized eggplants are commonly used in

Thai cuisine Thai cuisine ( th, อาหารไทย, , ) is the national cuisine of Thailand. Thai cooking places emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with strong Odor, aromatic components and a spicy edge. Australian chef David Thompson (chef), David ...

Indonesian cuisine Indonesian cuisine is a collection of various regional culinary traditions that formed the archipelagic nation of Indonesia. There are a wide variety of recipes and cuisines in part because Indonesia is composed of approximately 6,000 popula ...

, and in

Cambodian Cuisine Cambodian cuisine is an umbrella term for the cuisines of all ethnic groups in Cambodia, whereas Khmer cuisine ( km, សិល្បៈធ្វើម្ហូបខ្មែរ; ) refers specifically to the more than thousand years old culina ...

. Some of the cultivars in Thailand are Thai Purple, Thai Green, Thai Yellow, and Thai White.

Uses

The green-white varieties of Thai eggplants are essential ingredients in

Thai curry Thai curry ( th, แกง, translit=kaeng, ) is a dish in Thai cuisine made from curry paste, coconut milk or water, meat, seafood, vegetables or fruit, and herbs. Curries in Thailand mainly differ from the curries in India in their use of ingr ...

dishes such as in '' kaeng tai pla'',

green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 Nanometre, nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by ...

and

red curry Red curry ( th, แกงเผ็ด, , , lit.: 'spicy curry') is a popular Thai dish consisting of red curry paste cooked in coconut milk with meat added, such as chicken, beef, pork, duck or shrimp, or vegetarian protein source such as tofu. ...

. They are often halved or quartered, but can also be used whole, and cooked in the curry sauce where they become softer and absorb the flavor of the sauce. They are also eaten raw in

Thai salads Salads that are internationally known as Thai salads with a few exceptions fall into four main preparation methods. In Thai cuisine these are called ''yam, tam, lap'' and ''phla''. A few other dishes can also be regarded as being a salad. Overvi ...

or with Thai chili pastes (''

nam phrik ''Nam phrik'' ( th, น้ำพริก, ) is a type of Thai spicy chili sauce typical of Thai cuisine. Usual ingredients for ''nam phrik'' type sauces are fresh or dry chilies, garlic, shallots, lime juice and often some kind of fish or ...

''). Sometimes, in Thai restaurants outside of Thailand, Thai eggplants are replaced by locally available eggplants. One of the most popular Cambodian steak sauce known as Tuk Prahok is made with the green-white variety (Khmer: ត្រប់ស្រួយ pronounces ''trob sruoy'')

Gallery

File:Thai eggplant flowers-KayEss-2.jpeg, The flowers of the Thai eggplant File:Thai eggplant fruit-KayEss-2.jpeg, The fruit of the Thai eggplant. The white residue on the leaves is common. File:Makhuea - Thai eggplant.JPG, A purple-white type of eggplant used in Thailand File:Kaeng tai pla34.JPG, ''Kaeng tai pla'' with Thai eggplants and

bamboo shoot Bamboo shoots or bamboo sprouts are the edible shoots (new bamboo culms that come out of the ground) of many bamboo species including ''Bambusa vulgaris'' and ''Phyllostachys edulis''. They are used as vegetables in numerous Asian dishes and b ...

s File:2013 Tam Lao.jpg, The eggplants are often eaten raw in Thailand, for instance in ''som tam Lao'' File:Phla nuea makhuea on.jpg, ''Phla nuea makhuea on'' is a

Thai salad Salads that are internationally known as Thai salads with a few exceptions fall into four main preparation methods. In Thai cuisine these are called ''yam, tam, lap'' and ''phla''. A few other dishes can also be regarded as being a salad. Overvi ...

of medium rare beef and nearly raw sliced Thai eggplant File:Nam phrik kapi 2.jpg, Yellow and white ''makhuea pro'' (Thai eggplant) in the background, fritters made from ''makhuea muang'' (purple eggplant) in the foreground, served with ''nam phrik kapi'', a chili paste containing ''makhuea phuang'' (Thai pea-sized eggplants)

References

Asian vegetables Eggplants Cultivars originating in Thailand {{Fruit-stub

Uses

Gallery

See also

References