Spicy Basil Eggplant

This recipe, another wonderful dish prepared by my beautiful Thai Bride, originally called for chicken, though as we had some basil and fresh chillies and some eggplants recently purchased from the Farmer's Market, we decided to create this version. You could, of course use chicken, or even shrimp, just cook them to an appropriate doneness, the rest of the ingredients are the same.

Spicy Basil Eggplant
Adapted from a recipe from Thai & South-East Asian Cooking
3 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
2-4 fresh red chillies, seeded and finely chopped (keep the seeds in if you want it hot)
1 lb. eggplant (use small Chinese eggplant)
1/2 red pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
3 Tbsp Thai fish sauce
2 tsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp granulated sugar
10-12 fresh Thai basil leaves (or more Italian variety)

Cut the eggplant into bite sized chunks. Wash and then salt and leave for 10-15 minutes. Wash again, and then boil for 2-3 minutes, until soft.

Heat the oil in a wok, then add the garlic and chillies and stir-fry for 1-2 minutes over medium heat, until the garlic is brown but not burned (or it will taste bitter).

Add the eggplant and red pepper and stir-fry for 2-3 minutes, then add the fish sauce, dark soy sauce and sugar, and continue to stir-fry for an additional 2-3 minutes, until the pepper is soft.

Add the basil and stir in for an additional minute.