Burmese Stir-Fried Spinach & Eggplants

Burmese Spinach & Eggplants

Supermarkets now stock bags and tubs of triple washed spinach which cuts down on prep time. Baby spinach leaves are small enough to leave whole and that cuts down on prep time because they don't need to be chopped.

I fry the eggplant first then add the spinach, cooking it just until wilted.The leaves have to be moved from the bottom of the pan to the top several times because the pan is usually too small to accommodate the entire contents of the bag or tub.

Sorrel

Sorrel is an herb, delicious and tart, that look very much like spinach. If sown in the ground, this vigourous plant will take over just like mint. I've bought it at the farmer's market as seedlings and potted them successfully. They die back in the winter and return in the spring. The tender & tangy greens are edible when they first sprout but become more and more bitter as they mature. 

To emulate the tangy flavour of sorrel and roselle leaves (chin baung ywet in Burmese), I add the juice of a lime just before removing this dish from the stove. 

Ingredients

1 lb. baby spinach leaves

2 Japanese eggplants, cubed
2 Tbsp. dried shrimp powder
1 tsp. shrimp paste, diluted in 2 Tbsp. vinegar
5 dried red chillies or 1 tsp. chilli powder
8 cloves garlic, peeled and sliced
2 large onions, peeled and sliced
1/2 tsp. turmeric 
4 Tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil
3 jalapeno peppers/green chillies, deseeded & sliced

1 lime, juiced

Directions

1. Heat oil over medium flame, add dried chilies (left whole), turmeric, onions, garlic and stir until translucent.
2. Add spinach and shrimp paste along with vinegar in which it was diluting and stir well.
3. Add eggplant cubes and shrimp powder, stirring to combine.
4. Simmer for 10 to 15 minutes until dry and vegetables are coated with oil.

Garnish with green chillis and lime juice, stir well and keep cover on until ready to serve with steamed long-grain rice.