Eggplants in Seattle, Episode 3: Issaquah Farmer’s Market

The farmer’s market in Issaquah is one of the largest and nicest I’ve seen, including about half a dozen flower stalls, bakeries, food stands, fresh pasta in bizarre flavors, dozens of fruit and vegetable vendors, handmade soaps and crafts, and even live entertainment. In a setting like this, eggplants weren’t hard to find.  I observed them peeking around every corner.

But for the most part, the market did not feature unusual varieties of eggplant. The sole exception was Darrell from Westover Farm in Maple Valley, who sells a Japanese/Chinese variety called Kaga Nasu. These large, bulbous eggplants are special in that they are virtually seedless. Westover Farm attests that they are the only vendor for this variety in the area, with the next closest residing in Portland.

"Nasu" meaning "eggplant" in Japanese

At this stage, I would normally demonstrate what I did with the Kaga Nasu eggplant we bought – Farmer Darrell recommended slicing it into thick “steaks” and grilling with olive oil – but on our busy trip, we didn’t have a chance to cook it before the top of the eggplant softened with rot. I cut the top off and left it in my grandparents’ fridge, where it hopefully will get chopped up and put in the daily frittata. Ah vell.

Also, one more note: GRILLING. OMG. I don’t have a grill, and therefore can’t fully express to you the wonders of grilled eggplant.

The product of my uncle's master-grilling.

 In the meantime, I’m going to experiment with attaining that smoky flavor in the oven. Supposedly if you coat the eggplant skin in oil first before baking it, the burning oil smokes the eggplant slightly, but I have yet to attain good results.

Eggplants in Seattle, Episode 1: Chinese

I recently returned from a trip to the Seattle area, land of really good Chinese restaurants. I tried two eggplant dishes in particular that were incredibly delicious (and, in the second case, somewhat unusual).

At Szechuan Bean Flower, we ate an excellent rendition of eggplant with garlic sauce.

The dish, while delicious, wasn’t unlike other eggplant-with-garlic-sauces that I’ve had before. But the second Chinese restaurant we went to, Yea's Wok, serves an unusual variation.

This dish contains eggplant, strips of hard tofu, inoki mushrooms, carrots, and fresh basil leaves. The ingredients are stir-fried together with a light salty sauce. But while the Yea’s dish was more interesting, I’d recommend Bean Flower as a more vegetarian-friendly option. At Yea's Wok, there are few vegetarian dishes and we were accidentally served meat, despite requesting tofu substitution. Bean Flower, on the other hand, has an entire veggie section. And also a huge mirror on one wall, which I find is a prerequisite for good Chinese food.

More Seattle eggplants coming up!