Serves 4

4 Philippine eggplants
l tablespoon minced garlic
l/4 cup diced onion
8 ounces ground pork
l medium potato, diced
l/4 cup diced red bell pepper
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper, or to taste
4 eggs 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Boil the eggplants for 6 to 7 minutes, or until tender. Remove the skins. Set aside and keep warm. Sauté the garlic, onion, ground pork, potato, and bell pepper until the vegetables are tender and the pork is thoroughly cooked. Season with salt and pepper, and keep warm. Separate the egg whites from the yolks; beat the egg whites until stiff. Mix in the yolks. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a skillet over medium heat. Spoon 1/8 of the beaten egg mixture into the skillet, and let it cook until it forms a crusty bottom. Place an eggplant on top of the egg. Lightly spread the pulp and top with 1/4 of the pork-potato mixture. Add 1/8 of the beaten egg mixture to the skillet. Carefully turn over the omelet to cook the topside. Repeat with the remaining eggplants, pork-potato mixture, and eggs.

Salabat (Ginger Tea)

Serves 4

3 inches fresh ginger, thinly sliced
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

Heat 4 1/2 to 5 cups water with the ginger and brown sugar just until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Add more water to weaken the tea. Strain and serve hot or cold.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Recipe three from Karen Hulene Bartell's Chinese Valentine's Day menu for two:

Serves 2.

½ pound Oriental eggplants (available at Oriental markets), or 1 small domestic eggplant
2 green onions
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
1 teaspoon black beans sauce
¼ teaspoon sliced chili pepper, or to taste
2 tablespoons chicken broth
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar
1 teaspoon sugar
½ teaspoon Ten-Spice Powder
3 tablespoons sesame oil
1 tablespoon water
½ teaspoon cornstarch

Slice unpeeled eggplant into 2 x ½-inch strips. Trim and finely slice the green onions. Reserve half for garnish. Combine half the onions with the garlic, ginger, black beans, and pepper; set aside. Blend the broth, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and ten-spice powder in a small bowl; set aside. Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a wok. Stir-fry the eggplant over medium heat for 5 minutes, or until the eggplant is soft. Remove eggplant with a slotted spoon and set aside. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and onion/garlic mixture to the wok. Stir-fry for 30 seconds. Fold in the eggplant and broth mixture. Bring to a boil and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the excess liquid has evaporated. Whisk the water with the cornstarch. Stir into the eggplant and heat until sauce thickens. Remove to a serving platter. Garnish with the remaining green onions.

Picture courtesy of Wikimedia Commons. This post is a member of the Chinese Valentine's Day menu series.

Guest blogging for Hippocrene Cooks this week is Sheilah Kaufman, food editor of Jewish Women International's website and a contributing food writer to numerous publications, including Vegetarian Times Magazine and The Washington Post. Sheilah co-authored (with Nur Ilkin) A Taste of Turkish Cuisine, and this week presents two recipes from the much-celebrated kitchens of Turkey.

Some say that three major cuisines exist in the world: Turkish, Chinese, and French. At the crossroads of the Far East and the Mediterranean, Turkey has been the cradle of many civilizations throughout centuries. Its cuisine, which can be traced back more than 1400 years, fully reflects this rich historical background. While many well-known national cuisines rely on one basic element (e.g. French cuisine is characterized by sauces), there is no dominant ingredient or technique in the Turkish kitchen. Eggplant alone can be prepared in over 40 different ways.

There is a story that tells of a famous Turkish priest or imam who was so delighted with his wife’s eggplant creation that he fainted from pure pleasure. There are many versions of this dish. If possible, prepare this a day or two ahead so the flavors can mellow. This is one of Turkey’s most famous dishes.

Serves 6

6 Italian eggplants, 5 to 6 inches long
salt
canola oil for frying
3 medium onions
½ cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup chopped canned tomatoes
1 large tomato, sliced
1 green bell pepper, seeded, ribs removed, sliced into ½-inch strips

Garnish:
3 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley

Wash the eggplants and remove the leaves from around the stem, but leave the stem on. With a sharp knife, leaving a 1½-inch border of peel at the tops and bottoms of the eggplants, remove the peel from the rest of the eggplants. Cut a thin slice off the bottoms of the eggplants so they are flat. With a small sharp knife make a deep slit lengthwise, from the top of the peeled area to the bottom of the peeled area, completely through the eggplants. Sprinkle the eggplants with salt and let them stand for 20 to 30 minutes. Rinse with cold water and dry them on a kitchen towel.

Place 2 to 3 inches of canola oil in a 5-to 6-quart pot or deep fryer and heat on high heat for about 10 minutes. Cook 2 to 4 eggplants at a time, depending on the size of the pot. Roll them frequently so they will lightly brown on all sides and cook evenly. Remove them from the oil when soft and let them drain in a fine sieve or colander. Cook the remaining eggplants the same way. Lay the cooked eggplants in one or two large oven-proof skillets with the cut side up. Using a spoon, carefully open the slit to widen it.

Cut the onions in half and slice into very thin semicircles. Cut again in the opposite direction so thin strips are formed. Heat the olive oil and sauté the onions and garlic. Add the parsley, sugar, 1 to 2 teaspoons salt and canned tomatoes. Mix well. Stir and cook over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Open the slits in the eggplants with a spoon while the eggplants are still hot and stuff the long slash of the eggplant. Press mixture down gently as you fill the eggplants.

Preheat oven to 400ºF. Pour 1 cup water around the sides of the eggplants in the pan. Garnish each eggplant with a slice of tomato and strip of green pepper on top. Cover and cook over medium heat and bring to a boil. Place pan(s), uncovered, in the oven and cook for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool and serve, or cover and chill. Garnish with parsley.

Pictures courtesy of Sheilah Kaufman and Wikimedia Commons.