CHIK-FIL-A & GREEN CURRY EGGPLANT

Yesterday I decided that I'd spend my gloomy Saturday doing the randomest things ever. I decided that I'd run to Target and pick-up a few necessities: trash bags, foil, mixed nuts (don't ask)... and the DVD set of One Tree Hill Season 3. OK, so that last item was not in my original laundry list of things to pick-up, but since it was on sale for $18.99, I couldn't pass on it. $45-later, I left Target -- once again defeated; I never win when I go there (and I never spend under $20 there either).

Damn you, Target!!! *fists-in-air*

Since I was already in Manhattan Beach (because I didn't want to go to the Target closer to home in Culver City), I thought that I could swing over to the next town (Redondo Beach), and peruse the South Bay Galleria.

Truth: I went to that mall just because it's the closest one that has a Chik-Fil-A in the food court. I hadn't had Chik-Fil-A since I last went to Ontario Mills, and that was probably back in 2005. (Chik-Fil-A is obviously not as big a thing out here as it is back East.) From Target, I got onto Sepulveda, busted a left on Artesia, hit the mall, marched up to the food court, got my #1 original (w/sweet tea), and walked right back to my car. Yes, folks, I effin' went all the way to Redondo Beach for Chik-Fil-A. It was one of my not-so-high moments (But at the same time, Redondo isn't super far from Santa Monica either. I digress.). I made a pit-stop at Albertson's on the way home to pick up ingredients for the dish that I was planning to cook: green curry eggplant.

So I bought eggplant from Trader Joe's last week; it came in a pack of two. And these were not your ordinary eggplants. They were each the size of my forearm (almost), and I was afraid that they'd sit in my fridge until they went bad (as is what usually happens to my veggies). I decided that I had to do something about it. I was craving curry at the time, and so the plan was born.

These are the ingredients that I used:

1 can of coconut milk
1 tbsp of Thai green curry paste
patis (fish sauce)
pepper
garlic powder
basil (not fresh, although fresh basil would work even better)
ginger powder
light brown sugar
water
eggplant (chopped into small pieces)
one whole yellow onion (chopped)
carrots (julienned)
baby spinach

Since I wasn't really following a recipe (per se'), I pretty much eye-balled everything as I went (something I learned from my mom). This is what I did:

In a medium sauce pan, I heated up a can of coconut milk. Since it seemed a tad too thick, I added half a can of water into the sauce pan. Then I took the tablespoon of Thai green chili paste and added that to the pan. I stirred it up. I then chopped the onion as the milk mixture slowly simmered. I added the onions, pepper, garlic powder, basil, and ginger powder, then gave it a stir. I allowed the mixture to bubble slightly before adding the eggplant. After mixing everything together, I let it sit for a couple of minutes. Then I added the carrots and baby spinach (more or less for texture and color). When it was close to finished, I gave it a taste; the curry was mild, but then it gave way to a slight tabang-ness (blandness). I realized, then, that it was missing patis. So I reached for the bottle, and started to pour... making sure I didn't use too much (since Philippine fish sauce is a lot stronger and saltier than that of their Southeast Asian neighbors'). I gave it a mix, and allowed it to simmer. It tasted great, but still with a hint of tabang-ness, although not as bad as before. I remedied it with more patis, and this time it was right on.

I spooned some sauce and eggplant over a small bowl of rice, and it tasted awesome. I wish I took a picture, but I was being way too lazy (and my arms were sore after working my bis and tris - ahahah). So you're going to have to take my word for it that it looked amazing, and tasted great.

Side note: One of our friends was over as I was cooking, and she made a note that it was a major "turn on" to see a man in the kitchen, with something in a pot simmering. Take note, fellas. Take note. (Ha.)