Ca tim kho chao comes together in twenty minutes and carries a bowl of rice on its own. The pleasure is in eggplant that is seared on the outside, soft in the middle and soaked through with the salty, rich taste of fermented bean curd. The difficulty is that eggplant turns mushy easily, and slices cut too thin lose their shape.
The eggplant is cut into rounds exactly 1.5cm thick and seared with fried garlic until the surfaces catch color. The heat then drops for a 10 minute braise that takes the chao deep into the flesh. The pan has to be properly hot before the eggplant goes in.
This batch weighs about 310g, at roughly 51 calories per 100g.
Method
Blend 2 cubes of fermented taro bean curd with 1 chili, 1 tablespoon soy sauce and 1/2 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend into a smooth sauce.
Cut 1 large eggplant into rounds 1.5cm thick. Fry 2 cloves of minced garlic in 1 teaspoon cooking oil until fragrant, then sear the eggplant rounds until the surfaces catch color.
Add the chao mixture to the pan, lower the heat and braise for 10 minutes so the eggplant takes on the flavor, then turn off the heat.
Tips
Rounds cut at exactly 1.5cm hold their shape in the pan rather than collapsing.
Ten minutes over low heat is what takes the chao deep into the flesh.
Searing in small batches matters, since a crowded pan steams the eggplant and leaves it floppy.
Chao is salty on its own, so the pan sauce is worth tasting before any more soy sauce goes in.
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The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.