Serves: 6
Total Calories: 21

1 eggplant
2 tablespoons vinegar
1 tablespoon peanut oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1 clove garlic
lettuce

1. Cut eggplant lengthwise in half if large. Leave whole if small. Place in a shallow heatproof dish (cut-side down if halved) and steam on a rack until soft (about 30 minutes). See HOW-TO, _Steaming and BACKGROUND, 06- Techniques of Chinese Cooking, STEAMING.

2. Let cool slightly. Remove stem end and peel. Tear lengthwise in strips (this is easier than cutting) then chop fine.

3. Transfer eggplant to a bowl. Add vinegar, oil, salt and pepper, blending well.

4. Cut garlic clove in half. Rub inside of a bowl or decorative mold with cut surface of garlic then place garlic at bottom of bowl. Pack in eggplant mixture and refrigerate overnight.

5. Arrange lettuce leaves on a serving platter. Invert eggplant onto lettuce. Remove garlic and serve.

VARIATIONS:
* For a coarser-textured dish, tear the eggplant as in step 2, but do not chop.
* In step 3, substitute the following dressing: 1 slice ginger root, minced 1 tablespoon sugar, 1 teaspoon salt and a few drops of sesame oil. Refrigerate, covered, only 1 to 2 hours.

The Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook. ©1994 by Gloria Bley Miller.

Nutritional Facts:

Serves: 6
Total Calories: 21
Calories from Fat: 20

More Recipes from the Thousand Recipe Chinese Cookbook Cookbook:
*Appetizers and Cold Dishes
Asparagus Salad
Basic Cold Bean Curd
Bean Sprout Salad
Braised Bamboo Shoots
Braised Mushrooms
Celery And Carrot Salad
Chinese Pickles
Chinese Sausages
Cold Chicken And Cucumber
Cold Chicken Sesame
Cold Sherry Chicken
Cold Shrimp And Cauliflower
Crabmeat And Cucumbers
Dried Jellyfish And Turnips
Eggplant Salad
Marinated Abalone
Marinated Mushrooms I
Marinated Mushrooms II
Oyster Sauce Mushrooms
Pickled Cabbage
Pickled Celery
Pickled Chinese Cabbage
Pickled Chinese Lettuce
Pickled Mustard Cabbage
Pickled Turnips
Preserved Eggs
Preserved Eggs with Ham and Vegetables
Pseudo Smoked Fish
Red-Simmered Chicken Wings
Sesame Ham Sticks
Shredded Cucumbers
Shrimp Toast
Slivered Bean Curd And Shrimp
Smashed Cucumbers
Smashed Radishes
Smoked Fish
Spinach Salad With Shrimp
Stir-Fried Mixed Vegetables
Stuffed Mushrooms -Braised
Stuffed Mushrooms -Simmered
Stuffed Mushrooms -Steamed
Stuffed Mushrooms -Steamed and Poached
Stuffed Mushrooms Mixture: Chicken and Shrimp
Stuffed Mushrooms Mixture: Fish
Stuffed Mushrooms Mixture: Ham
Stuffed Mushrooms Mixture: Pork
Stuffed Mushrooms Mixture: Pork and Crabmeat
Stuffed Mushrooms Mixture: Pork and Shrimp
Stuffed Mushrooms Mixture: Shrimp
Stuffed Mushrooms Mixture: Water Chestnuts
Sweet-and-Pungent Lettuce Rolls
Sweet-and-Pungent Lotus Root
White-Cut Chicken