Wednesday, June 11, 2008

"Puerto Rican" Eggplant Kimchi

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According to the very relgious and the media, the world is ending. And near the end, I will be in my pantry eating kimchi out of jars--in part because kimchi is delicious and in part because I can't stop making it. I started with ramp kimchi. (Why not start boutique?) And, then there was the pea shoot kimchi (not as yummy.) And, then I came upon "Puerto Rican" Eggplant. Why quotation marks you ask? While I admit there are always chinks in my grammar, these quotation marks are so that I don't get slammed with flamming comments about my cultural insensitivity to the actual homeland of my striped green pretties. My grocery store told me they were from the warm land of J.Lo and the Internet did not disagree and I always agree with the Internet....
Eggplant Kimchi
So, I purchased way too many and then left them in my fridge. Many types of produce were consumed in their stead, and then finally I could not wait much longer. Would these be seedy like Thai eggplant? Would these be bitter like grocery store eggplants? I wasn't sure, but I figured kimchi would solve all and any problems. (Kimchi is a miracle.) They turned out to have a fairly thick skinned, mild flavorer with few seeds. And, they were lovely when kimchied up.
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7 comments:

Chibog in Chief said...

this is so mouth-watering!! delicious!!

Rowena said...

Puerto rican eggplant? What a score! I was able to resuscitate my poor thai tiger eggplant starts which had suffered terribly while I was away on vacation...they've got a long ways to go but using them in kimchi sounds great!

Anonymous said...

wow! i've seen turkish eggplants before (squat & red) but never puerto rican eggplants -- is it a variety or just where they were grown?

Maggie said...

I've never seen yellow/green eggplant. I'm going to be on the lookout now. Kimcheeing them sounds great. How was the texture when they were done?

I bought a ton of locally made zucchini kimchee last year and I've been planning on trying to make my own when zukes come into season. I'll definitely try your recipe.

maybelles mom said...

thanks for all the comments. I wished I knew anything more about these eggplants, but I will ask my grocer. But, I can say that the texture was spongey--but in a good way.

Salty Incisor said...

I just wanted to try kmchi but I am scared. I think it would be great I love saurkraut, so I am sure I will like it. Ok you've convinced me. I just read a book with Korean American characters in it. I am eager to see what more treats come out of your garden this year and into your food blog. Good Luck. Thanks for popping by mine...it usually is less whiney, you just had good timing!!

Anonymous said...

Boy, you really will kimchee anything! LOL The colors in your photos are fantastic. Eggplant as kimchee, huh? Did you run that past the Korean grocery lady, too? ; )