Ideal for spring, this week’s recipe from Andy Oliver (Head Chef of critically acclaimed Som Saa) in collaboration with Singha Beer is completely vegetarian. A Thai aubergine salad with soft boiled eggs and roasted rice powder, the dish is healthy and quick to prepare – ready in just 30 minutes. In addition, the flavours of this dish are perfectly paired with Singha Beer, brewed using a blend of sweet, earthy and spicy flavours to complement Thai cuisine.
“This is a classic Thai salad normally made with long green Thai aubergines, they are impossible to find in the UK but if you can find long purple Japanese aubergines they will work well.”
Ingredients
Serves 2- 4 as part of a shared Thai meal
Large aubergines, 2 (or 4 Japanese aubergines if you can source them)
Thai shallots, 5-6, peeled and sliced thinly (can be substituted for regular shallots)
Spring onions, small bunch, finely sliced
Mint, a small handful of leaves
Coriander, a small handful of leaves
Kaffir lime leaves, 3-4 fresh or frozen, sliced into fine strips
Free range eggs, 2
Dry roasted rice powder*, 1 ½ tbsp.
Light soy sauce, 2tbsp
Sea salt, a small pinch
Lime juice, 3tbsp
Palm sugar, 1 ½ tsp, shaved (or the same amount of golden caster sugar)
Roasted chilli powder, 1tsp
*To make the rice powder, dry and toast raw rice (ideally sticky, but jasmine is ok) in a pan with no oil on a low heat until evenly light brown in colour (about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally). Allow this then to cool before grinding it into a coarse powder in a pestle and mortar or clean spice/coffee grinder
Method
First grill the aubergines either over a charcoal grill, on a griddle pan or put them under a hot preheated grill until cooked, soft and skin is charred. Set aside to cool.
Soft boil the eggs to your liking (I immerse for 6 minutes and 15 seconds in rapidly boiling water, then transfer into iced water to stop the cooking). Once cooled, peel and set aside.
Make the dressing by dissolving the sugar and pinch of salt in the lime juice, then stirring in the soy sauce and chilli powder.
Peel the aubergines and cut each one into 3 or 4 pieces, lay on a plate.
In a bowl mix the salad of mint, coriander, shallots, spring onions and kaffir lime leaf, add the dressing and then serve the salad and all the dressing over the aubergine on the plate, pouring the dressing over the aubergines. Break the soft boiled eggs in half and place on top of the aubergine salad. Finish sprinkling the dried rice powder.
Ingredients
- 2 Large aubergines (or 4 Japanese aubergines if you can source them)
- 6 Thai shallots peeled and sliced thinly (can be substituted for regular shallots)
- Spring onions small bunch, finely sliced
- Mint a small handful of leaves
- Coriander a small handful of leaves
- 4 Kaffir lime leaves fresh or frozen, sliced into fine strips
- 2 Free range eggs
- 1 ½ tbsp Dry roasted rice powder
- 2 tbsp Light soy sauce
- Sea salt a small pinch
- 3 tbsp Lime juice
- 1 ½ tsp Palm sugar shaved (or the same amount of golden caster sugar)
- 1 tsp Roasted chilli powder
Instructions
- *To make the rice powder, dry and toast raw rice (ideally sticky, but jasmine is ok) in a pan with no oil on a low heat until evenly light brown in colour (about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally). Allow this then to cool before grinding it into a coarse powder in a pestle and mortar or clean spice/coffee grinder
- First grill the aubergines either over a charcoal grill, on a griddle pan or put them under a hot preheated grill until cooked, soft and skin is charred. Set aside to cool.
- Soft boil the eggs to your liking (I immerse for 6 minutes and 15 seconds in rapidly boiling water, then transfer into iced water to stop the cooking). Once cooled, peel and set aside.
- Make the dressing by dissolving the sugar and pinch of salt in the lime juice, then stirring in the soy sauce and chilli powder.
- Peel the aubergines and cut each one into 3 or 4 pieces, lay on a plate.
- In a bowl mix the salad of mint, coriander, shallots, spring onions and kaffir lime leaf, add the dressing and then serve the salad and all the dressing over the aubergine on the plate, pouring the dressing over the aubergines. Break the soft boiled eggs in half and place on top of the aubergine salad. Finish sprinkling the dried rice powder.
