Life is about making use of things around us. How happy I am to be able to cook pea eggplants that I harvest directly from the garden to meet my daily food needs.
Before showing you my recipe, let me invite you to see my activities in harvesting some vegetables. Then I will serve the vegetables with a simple recipe but for us, it is a delicious recipe and free from nature.
I'm going to harvest pea eggplants. As a bonus, the skin on my hands feels itchy but it doesn't matter for such a fun activity. Also, I get food ingredients for daily food intake. I can also save it for a few days' supply, for example for chilies.
Bushwalking can be annoying as some of the grass creates an itchy feeling on the skin. It's not a problem when it becomes a normal activity. The garden visit I made was not a clean garden without grass.
The grass that looked like the bush I visited was deliberately left taller until harvest time, to feed the goats. So, I had to fight the grass and be careful not to cut the skin on my feet and hands. Some of the grass becomes very sharp if it rubs against the skin at a fast speed. I need to be careful, and that's all.
I always enjoy visiting my husband's uncle's house. It makes me do fun activities on the edge of the village. My uncle's house is still very traditional because it is far from the city center. Still made of wood. It's so quiet there and I still hear lots of insect sounds that I can no longer hear in my area.
HARVESTING PEA EGGPLANTS
Have you ever heard about pea eggplants before? Some people call it Turkey Berry. I prefer that they are called pea eggplants because their shape is similar to peas, but they are still in the same family as eggplants where their tree shape is similar.
The size of pea eggplants and their color are indeed similar to peas. The texture of pea eggplants is harder and crunchier. However, when cooked pea eggplants will become soft.
It's just that pea eggplants trees can grow taller than eggplant trees in general. Also, the pea eggplants tree has small thorns on the sharp part. So, we have to be careful when harvesting pea eggplants.
I harvested pea eggplants but I forgot to bring a container. So, I just accommodated pea eggplants with my hijab. Enough to stock up on food intake in my kitchen. Because there is only me and my husband.
HARVESTING GREEN CHILLIES
Finished with harvesting pea eggplants, I continued towards the green chili trees. The green chili trees are covered with tall grass.
I was excited to take those fresh green chilies. My husband and I are chili lovers! In fact, my husband always interrupts me if I don't cook something that uses chilies one day. Lol. Can you eat chilies and tolerate the heat?
My harvest of green chilies is enough for several days. There were many more green chilies in the garden but I didn't take them. It does not matter. The most important thing is that it stays fresh on the tree even though over time it will turn into red chili.
SPICY PEA EGGPLANTS
First, let me be honest with you guys. pea eggplants are similar to other types of green eggplants which mostly taste a little bitter. The good news is, pea eggplants have health benefits that people still rely on. So, the price of pea eggplants is still considered to have value in the market.
In the past, my mother often consumed pea eggplants to treat blurry eyes and to control blood sugar. Yes, we know, bitter things actually have many health benefits.
Because they taste bitter, we have to mix them with foods that have a strong taste. Usually, I mix pea eggplants with tempeh or tofu. Then, served in a spicy way. Of course, spicy flavors will really help to disguise the bitter taste. Apart from tempeh, recommended proteins that can be used for plant-based protein are chickpeas, cashews or lentils.
For spicy flavour, I use chili paste. I don't use the green chilies I harvest. I used red chilies, which I mixed with garlic, red onion, and garlic. With half a teaspoon of salt, I pounded them together until they became chili paste.
THE INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup of pea eggplants
- 1/2 cup of diced tempeh or you can use more if you want
- chili paste (from half a handful of red chilies, 3 white cloves and 5 small cloves of red onion)
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- (optional): bay leaves, fresh or dried
COOKING INSTRUCTIONS
FRYING TEMPEH
Heat the oil. I use sunflower oil. Then fry the tempeh briefly, not until it becomes over golden brown. Then drain them.
FRYING PEA EGGPLANTS
After finishing frying, diced tempeh, then fry pea eggplants. Keep stirring while frying the pea eggplants until they look white. Lift and drain.
The white surface of fried pea eggplants will turn wrinkled when they cool and they will look 'wilted'.
STIR-FRYING CHILI PASTE
From the remaining oil, reduce the oil and use less to cook the chili paste. Continue stirring until the chili paste looks like it has reduced its watery texture and becomes cooked. Chilies that are not cooked will give us a stomach ache. Also, the aroma of uncooked chili paste will be too strong and uncomfortable.
ADDING FRIED TEMPEH AND PEA EGGPLANTS
The final step, add fried pea eggplants and fried tempeh. Don't forget to add salt. If needed, add a little sweetener such as sweet soy sauce, brown sugar, or general sugar. Sweetener will balance the taste. Stir well until they are all mixed together and remove them.
SERVING WAYS
Can't dodge it anyway. The best presentation of spicy pea eggplants is with warm rice. It will easily combine them nicely and we will forget the bitter taste of pea eggplants.
I also added a piece of traditional cracker for an extra crispy texture! I didn't even expect the final taste of this dish to be so amazing on my tongue even though all the ingredients come from plant-based ingredients. What do you think, HIVE LOVERS?
BONUS ACTIVITIES
After harvesting, I also fed my husband's uncle's goats. I really like holding the faces of the goats there! I think it's quite funny. Have you ever held a goat?
There was a basket full of grass for the goats. My husband helped his uncle to pick up the grass.
By feeding the goats, my heart feels happy! I don't know, it's hard to put into words. So, just enjoy! :)
Thank you for reading my blog and reblog if you want my blog this time worthy of reading by others.
Best Regards,
Anggrek Lestari
Anggrek Lestari is an Indonesian fiction writer who has published two major books. Now She is a full-time content creator. She has a goal to share life, poem, and food content that makes others happy and can get inspiration.
Contact Person: authoranggreklestari@gmail.com
Discord: anggreklestari#3009