China South of the Clouds

This simple salad of grilled eggplant, bell pepper, and tomato is one of the most popular dishes at Yingjiang Dai-Flavor Restaurant (盈江傣味园,  Yinjiang Daiwei Yuan) in Kunming. It’s light and piquant and spicy, the perfect end of summer dish. Surprisingly, the combination of eggplant, tomato, and vinegar is almost reminiscent of Italian antipasti.

1 Asian eggplant
1 red bell pepper
1 medium tomato
1 tsp tomato paste
2 tbsp Chinese rice vinegar
1 tbsp cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1 Thai chile sliced into thin round slices
a pinch of salt

Using a grill or a broiler, cook the eggplant, bell pepper, and tomato, turning as needed, until the skin is blackened on all sides and the vegetables are soft and begin to collapse in on themselves. (Some will cook faster than others.) Set aside to cool.

Peel the tomato, remove any fibrous parts from near the stem, and finely chop. In a small bowl, mix the chopped tomato with tomato paste and set aside. Peel the cooled eggplant and bell pepper and remove the stems. Cut the eggplant width-wise into 2″-3″ pieces, then roughly chop both the eggplant and pepper lengthwise to create rough strips about 1/4″-1/2″ thick.

Mix the chopped vegetables and tomato with all of the remaining ingredients. Taste the salad and adjust the vinegar, soy sauce, and/or salt as necessary.

Photo: Josh Wand