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Vietnamese-Style Broiled Eggplant

Vietnamese-Style Broiled Eggplant

By Calvin CoxSeptember 3, 2021

  • Makes
    4 to 6 servings
  • Cook Time
    35 minutes
  • Rating

Cà tím nướng is a popular Vietnamese dish of grilled eggplant with nước chấm, the ubiquitous savory-sweet dressing made with fish sauce, lime and garlic. For this recipe, we moved the cooking indoors and fired up the broiler for year-round convenience; its focused heat does a good job of charring the eggplant. With no sweetener other than the natural sugars in the shredded carrots, the dressing that sauces the eggplant after broiling has more savory-sour notes and a more restrained sweetness than is typical of nước chấm. Serve this with steamed jasmine rice as a light meal or offer it as a component of a Southeast Asian-inspired dinner.

Tip

Don’t use globe eggplant for this recipe, as it is more bulbous and seedy than slender Chinese or Japanese eggplant. Broilers vary in heat output, so keep a close eye on the eggplant as it cooks and be sure to rotate the baking sheet halfway to help ensure even browning.

Ingredients
  • 1

    medium carrot, peeled and shredded on the large holes of a box grater

  • 2

    Fresno OR jalapeño chilies, stemmed, halved lengthwise, seeded and sliced into thin half rings

  • 2

    tablespoons lime juice, plus lime wedges to serve

  • 1

    medium garlic clove, minced

  • Kosher salt and ground black pepper

  • 1 ½

    pounds Chinese OR Japanese eggplant, trimmed and halved lengthwise

  • 2

    tablespoons grapeseed or other neutral oil

  • 2

    tablespoons fish sauce

  • ½

    cup roasted, salted peanuts, chopped

  • ½

    cup lightly packed fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

Step 1

In a small bowl, stir together the carrot, chilies, lime juice, garlic and ¼ teaspoon each salt and pepper; set aside.

Heat the broiler with a rack about 4 inches from the element.

Brush the eggplant on all sides with the oil, then sprinkle with ½ teaspoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Arrange cut side up on a broiler-safe rimmed baking sheet and broil until well charred and a skewer inserted through the thickest parts meets no resistance, 8 to 10 minutes, rotating the baking sheet halfway.

Transfer the eggplant to a cutting board, cut into into 1½- to 2-inch pieces and place on a platter.

Step 2

Stir the fish sauce into the carrot mixture. Using a fork, scatter the carrots over the eggplant, then spoon the liquid over the top. Top with the peanuts and cilantro.