Green Curry BBQ Aubergine

Ingredients

Aubergines

• 2 long Asian purple aubergines (about 600 g), cut into 3 cm thick wedges, or 1 large European aubergine cut into 2 ½ cm slabs
• 1 tsp fine salt (to draw moisture before marinating)

Marinade

• 200 ml full-fat coconut cream (the thick layer skimmed from a tin of coconut milk)
• 3 to 4 tbsp Thai green curry paste (see cuisine/thai/pastes/thai-green-curry-paste.md, or a quality shop-bought paste)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil (or neutral oil)
• 2 tbsp fish sauce (or light soy sauce for a vegetarian version)
• 1 tbsp palm sugar, shaved, or soft light brown sugar
• 4 makrut (kaffir) lime leaves, central stems removed, torn
• 1 tbsp lime juice
• 1 small handful Thai basil leaves (bai horapa), roughly torn

To finish

• Extra Thai basil leaves
• 1 long red chilli, sliced on the diagonal
• Lime wedges
• Sticky rice (or jasmine rice, if serving as a main)

Method

Stage 1 - Salt the aubergines

1. Lay the aubergine pieces on a tray and sprinkle the salt over the cut surfaces.
2. Leave 15 to 20 minutes. Beads of moisture will rise to the surface.
3. Blot dry thoroughly with kitchen paper. This step keeps the aubergines from going waterlogged in the marinade.

Stage 2 - Make the curry marinade

1. Heat a wide pan or wok over medium. Add the coconut cream and the oil.
2. Bring to a steady bubble and cook 3 to 4 minutes until the cream splits, with little pools of oil rising to the surface. This is the cracked-cream stage that builds the curry flavour.
3. Add the green curry paste. Stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes until the paste turns deep green and smells intensely fragrant, the oil running clear and bright at the edges.
4. Stir in the fish sauce, palm sugar and torn lime leaves. Cook another 1 minute.
5. Take off the heat. Stir in the lime juice and torn Thai basil. The marinade should be a thick, glossy paste, not a soup; if it looks runny, return to the heat for another minute or two to reduce. Cool completely.

Stage 3 - Marinate

1. Lay the aubergine pieces in a wide, shallow dish or zip-lock bag.
2. Pour over the cooled marinade and turn the pieces until every surface is coated. Press the marinade into the cut faces where you can.
3. Cover and refrigerate at least 8 hours, ideally overnight. The aubergine flesh will turn dull green and almost pickled-looking; this is correct.

Stage 4 - Bring to room temperature and prep the grill

1. Lift the aubergines out of the fridge 30 minutes before cooking. Scrape off any pooled marinade back into the dish but keep a generous coating clinging to the flesh, you want it on the aubergine, not the grate.
2. Set up a hot direct-heat fire on the BBQ, around 220 to 250 C at the grate. A two-zone setup is ideal so you have a cooler side to park anything that catches.
3. Reserve a small bowl of the leftover marinade for basting.

Stage 5 - Grill

1. Lay the aubergines cut-side down on the hot grate. Do not move them for 3 to 4 minutes; the surface needs time to caramelise and release cleanly.
2. Flip and brush the cooked face with reserved marinade. Grill another 3 to 4 minutes.
3. Flip once more, brush again, and finish 2 minutes. By now the surface should be glossy with black caramelised patches and the centres yielding when pressed with the back of a spoon. If any pieces are catching, move them to the cool side of the grill to finish through.
4. Total grill time around 10 to 12 minutes depending on thickness.

Stage 6 - Serve

1. Arrange the grilled aubergines on a platter, cut-side up to show the char.
2. Scatter Thai basil leaves and sliced red chilli over the top.
3. Squeeze a lime wedge across just before serving, or set wedges on the side. Eat hot.