The first time I had Thai food was shortly after arriving in San Francisco in 1991. The restaurant on my street was called The Little Thai, it was run by a darling family-dad in the kitchen, mom on the cash register, and two teenage daughters waiting on the tables. This quickly became our favorite dish—we probably ate it once a week for nearly 20 years. By the time the restaurant closed, the eldest daughter Toni had become the owner, her husband the chef, and her son was doing his high school homework on a corner table. After that, Jason had to learn how to make it. This recipe is as close as we’ve come, but it’s still not quite as perfect.
Thai Chicken & Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 pound ground chicken
- 2 large shallots, minced
- 5 cloves garlic, sliced
- 1 small eggplant, preferably narrow Japanese type
- 1 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 2 teasoons soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce optional
- 1/3 cup chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon chili sauce of choice, or 1 fresh red chili optional
- 5-10 fresh basil leaves optional
- white rice
Instructions
- Cut eggplant into bite size chunks and drizzle with olive oil and salt.
- Fry the eggplant in olive oil until lightly browned and skin changes color. Remove to a plate.
- Add another teaspoon of oil to pan and saute the shallots and garlic (and fresh chili if you’re using it)until translucent.
- Add the ground chicken and brown, breaking up the meat as you go. Cook about 2 minutes.
- Add the oyster sauce, soy sauce and fish sauce, and combine well. Cook one minute.
- Add broth and use your spatula to deglaze the pan.
- Add eggplant, chili sauce and basil leaves if desired, combine well until warmed and serve over rice.