Eggplant

Eggplant, also known as aubergine, melongene, brinjal, or guinea squash, is a vegetable with a skin rangin from white to dark purple, and with light meat. Common preparations are stewing and grilling, but it is also deep fried, baked, and the flesh is also used pureeed. It tastes slightly bitter. It is used widely in many different types of cuisines. In the western world the large purple shaped variety is most common. Other varieties include small round, and thin long shaped eggplants. The color ranges from white, to light red to very dark prurple. Green or purple cultivars in white striping also exist.
==pre-preperation==
Eggplant can contain a lot of moisture, and the seeds can be bitter (though this differs with different varieties). The flesh can be quite spongy, and absorbs a lot of fat. To reduce those effects, it is possible to cube, salt and rinse the eggplant. This extracts moisture, and makes the flesh less spongy. Cut the eggplant in cubes, and salt them with about 2 tablespoons of salt per eggplant. Leave it on a tray or in a pot for 20 minutes up to an hour. There will be a dark colored runoff. Discard the runoff, and wash the eggplant under runnging water to get rid of the remaining salt. The eggplant is now ready for use.
==Preparation==
Eggplant is commonly cooked in a variety of ways. In east asian cuisine it is most commonly stirfried or deep fried in chunks. In india it is a common ingredient for curries. In the near- and middle east battered and deep-fried dishes exist, as well as pureed dishes. In Europe and north america common preparations include stewing and grilling.
==Stir-fying==
Stir fry eggplant in chunks of equal sizes so that they all cook equally. It's best to salt the eggplant first (see pre-preparation). Heat oil (about two tablespoons to a medium sized eggplant) in a wok untill it is very hot and stir fry for about 3 minutes, depending on the size of the eggplant chunks. The eggplant will absorb a good deal of the oil. Add flavourants to the oil before adding the eggplant so that they are absorbed in the eggplant.