Simple Air Fryer Eggplant Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the trick to cooking eggplant? ›

Slice your eggplant with the skin on (this will help it keep its shape). Brush it lightly with oil. Grill over a hot flame until the flesh is tender and you have beautiful char marks, about 5 minutes per side.

When it's cooked, “it should turn fully tender, all the flesh should be somewhat custardy. If you have to, hammer it a bit, knock it around, let it start to collapse.” When you're roasting eggplant, like in YuChen's recipe, “make sure you give them enough space so they can cook evenly,” she says.

Typically eggplant behaves like a sponge, soaking up heroic amounts of oil when fried. The Terzo Piano chefs use this trick to prevent heavy aubergines: Before frying, soak the strips of eggplant in an ice water bath. They will absorb water and drop in temperature.

The other trick for perfect roasted eggplant? Cooking it at a high temperature (425 F / 218 C) for enough time (25-30 minutes) to give it a browned exterior and tender interior.

It helps draw out moisture from the eggplant. You don't have to salt eggplant though, it depends on the texture your looking for. Salting gives it a more creamy texture when cooked and not salting helps the eggplant hold up and be a little firmer after cooked.

To get right down to it, no, it is not necessary to peel an eggplant. There are times when keeping the skin of the eggplant on can create a tough texture or bitter taste, which is why some people peel it off for ease.

Depending on variety and size, and how they are cut, eggplants take 15 to 25 minutes to fully cook. Undercook them and you'll be left with a bitter-tasting veggie that has the texture of a cotton ball, says Norton. "Most recipes can accurately predict how much time it will take for eggplants to fully cook.

You mentioned that once they turned out tough and chewy: then they were not cooked fully through. Vegetables are not like meat, which turn rubbery when overcooked. They turn soft rather. Watch out for the opposite as well: Eggplants when cooked for a long time may turn mushy.

Answer. Eggplant flesh will have tan to brown colored spots around the seeds. If this is the color you are referring to, it is edible. If the flesh is more brown than white, the eggplant may be spoiling and should be discarded.

Blame the Air Pockets for Eggplant's Sogginess

It's all thanks to the vegetable's cellular structure. Eggplant has soft, spongy flesh loaded with tiny air pockets, which are quick to absorb up hot oil or liquids.

What kind of oil do you use to fry eggplant? ›

In a deep, heavy skillet heat 1/2-inch of vegetable oil to 375 degrees F. Fry the eggplant pieces, in batches if necessary, for about 1 minute on each side, or until golden brown.

1. Chemical Compounds: Blame the bitter taste on naturally occurring compounds called alkaloids that plants can produce to protect themselves as a defense against predators. Eggplants can have the alkaloid solanine, which can give it a bitter taste.

Older recipes call for salting eggplant to draw out the bitter juices, but today's eggplants are less bitter (unless very large), so salting is largely unnecessary. It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream.

In The New Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone, Deborah Madison recommends salting slices or cubes for 30 minutes to remove bitterness, 60 or more to achieve better fried eggplant.

Do you salt eggplant before making eggplant parmesan. Yes, salting the eggplant before making eggplant parmesan draws out some moisture. This can help the eggplant stay crisp after cooking because it removes some moisture before it has a chance to create sogginess.

An award-winning food writer and cookbook author, Molly Watson has created more than 1,000 recipes focused on local, seasonal ingredients. Many recipes call for salting and rinsing eggplant before cooking it to draw out its bitterness.

You mentioned that once they turned out tough and chewy: then they were not cooked fully through. Vegetables are not like meat, which turn rubbery when overcooked. They turn soft rather. Watch out for the opposite as well: Eggplants when cooked for a long time may turn mushy.

Soak it in milk.

Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.

Cut the eggplant lengthwise instead of crosswise. This reduces the amount of oil that the eggplant absorbs during frying.