Thai eggplant fritters

When I heard that the round little green Thai eggplant could be eaten raw, the first thing I did was to give it a bite. Chump! Indeed, it's like none other eggplants that I've eaten. It's so crispy, fresh and even a little juicy! I toyed with one of the eggplants and discovered how easy it was to dig out the seed pod. The hard shell that remained could make a great container for filling or sauce. It's really fun. I heard that the Thai people don't eat the seeds, but I liked the crunchy feel of them. With a little thought, I decided to try giving the eggplant a light coat of spices and match it with a dip of some Southeast Asian condiments. 

Recipe: Crispy Thai little eggplant


Ingredients:
- 3 Thai eggplants, sliced to 6-8 pieces each
- cumin powder
- dried basil flakes
- paprika powder
- 4 tablespoon (TB) flour for coating
- 1 egg
- 2 TB oil


Dip ingredients:
- 1 teaspoon (tp) Sriracha hot chili sauce
- 1/2 tp fish sauce
- 1/4 tp vinegar
- 1/4 tp or less of sugar


Procedure:
Mix cumin, basil, paprika with flour and set in a plate. Beat an egg. Dip eggplant slices into egg, then roll in flour to coat thinly. Heat oil in a flat pan on medium heat. Lightly fry all the flat sides of the eggplant slices. Once all sides are golden, take out the eggplant. Cooking longer will cause the eggplant to soften. For the dip, mix all ingredients and serve.