Yam Makhuea Yao, Thai Grilled Eggplant Salad
Yam is the Thai word for a tossed salad built on a sharp lime dressing, and this one takes long, slender Asian eggplant charred until it goes smoky and meltingly soft. Blistering the whole eggplant over a flame does two jobs at once, cooking it through and driving smoke into the flesh, so no oil is needed anywhere. The peeled strands go into a dressing of lime, chile, and torn herbs, with a minced date for the palm-sugar sweetness and a little tamari where fish sauce would go. Toasted peanuts and raw shallot are the crunch against the soft eggplant. Serve it at room temperature; it does not wilt the way a leafy salad would.
Ingredients
- 2 Eggplants, long Asian if available
- 3 tbsp Shallots, thinly sliced
- 2 tbsp Lime juice
- 2 tsp Low-sodium tamari
- 1 Thai bird chile, minced
- 1 Deglet noor date, pitted and minced
- 3 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
- 2 tbsp Mint, torn
- 2 tbsp Scallions, sliced
- 2 tbsp Peanuts, toasted and crushed
Method
- Char the whole eggplants directly over a gas flame or under a hot broiler, turning, until the skin blackens all over and the flesh collapses, 12 to 15 minutes. The direct heat smokes the flesh and cooks it to silk with no oil, and that smoke is the point of the dish.
- Put the eggplants in a covered bowl to steam for 10 minutes, then peel off the blackened skin and tear the flesh into long strips. Tearing rather than slicing leaves ragged edges that grab the dressing.
- Mash the minced date into the lime juice, tamari, and chile until it dissolves. This is the yam balance in miniature: sour, salty, sweet, and hot, with the date standing in for palm sugar and the tamari for the fish sauce.
- Toss the warm eggplant gently with the shallot, then fold in the dressing and herbs right before serving so the mint and cilantro stay bright. Scatter the peanuts over the top for the one crisp element against all that softness.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 110 calories, 4 g protein, 6 g fiber, 180 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
