Thai eggplant facts for kids
Thai eggplant is a name for different kinds of eggplants. These small, round eggplants are very popular in Southeast Asian cuisines, especially in Thai cuisine, Indonesian cuisine, and Cambodian cuisine. They are also grown in India and Sri Lanka, where they are used in local dishes.
These eggplants are usually about the size of a golf ball. In Thailand, you can find different types, like Thai Purple, Thai Green, Thai Yellow, and Thai White.
How Thai Eggplants Are Used
The green and white types of Thai eggplants are super important in many Thai curry dishes. You'll find them in popular curries like kaeng tai pla, green curry, and red curry.
When cooked in curries, these eggplants are often cut in half or into quarters. Sometimes, they are even used whole! As they cook in the curry sauce, they get softer and soak up all the yummy flavors.
Besides curries, Thai eggplants are also eaten fresh. People enjoy them raw in Thai salads or with spicy Thai chili pastes called nam phrik.
Sometimes, if you're at a Thai restaurant outside of Thailand, they might use different kinds of eggplants if Thai eggplants are hard to find.
In Cambodia, a popular steak sauce called Tuk Prahok uses the green-white type of Thai eggplant. It's known as trob sruoy in Khmer.
Images for kids
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The flowers of the Thai eggplant plant.
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The fruit of the Thai eggplant. The white powder on the leaves is natural.
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A purple and white type of eggplant found in Thailand.
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Kaeng tai pla is a spicy Thai curry with Thai eggplants and bamboo shoots.
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Thai eggplants are often eaten raw, like in this som tam Lao.
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Phla nuea makhuea on is a Thai salad with beef and almost raw sliced Thai eggplant.
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Yellow and white Thai eggplants in the background, served with nam phrik kapi, a chili paste.
