Three Cup Eggplant

I really like Taiwanese 3 cup chicken. I have also had the same dish made with eggplant. Oh, so yummy. The garlic turns into irresistible candy. The first time I tried to make this I threw everything in the pot and cooked it for 30 minutes. It tasted great, but the eggplant turned into total mush. It looked nasty. This time it turned out much better. Also, I got to use the eggplant from my mini-garden!

Three Cup Eggplant

15 garlic cloves, crushed or cut into slivers

10 slices of ginger

1/3 c. sesame oil (I just use enough to coat the bottom of my pot)

1/3 c. soy sauce

1/3 c. rice wine

3 Tbl. sugar

2 lb. Japanese eggplant

one large bunch of Thai basil

1. Heat oil in a large pot.

2. Add garlic and ginger to pot and saute for a few minutes.

3. Add soy sauce, rice wine, and sugar to the pot and stir to dissolve sugar.

4. After bringing mixture to a boil reduce heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

5. While sauce is cooking, cut eggplant into bite size pieces and remove basil leaves from stalks.

6. Add eggplant to pot and cook for 5-7 minutes, until eggplant is softened.

7. Stir basil into pot and cook another two minutes.