First of all, we must find out why eggplant turns black. It turns out that there is a kind of substance called "phenol oxidase" in eggplant. When it sees oxygen, it can react with the rich "phenols" in eggplant to produce some colored substances. The longer the reaction time, the darker the color, from red to brown, from brown to black.
Although this enzyme is annoying, it also has weaknesses: first, it is afraid of high temperature, second, it is afraid of acid, third, it is afraid of vitamin C, and fourth, it cannot do bad things without oxygen. Master this rule and you can subdue it.
When frying eggplant, it is best to put more oil, add some pepper or garlic slices to fry until fragrant, add eggplant and turn it constantly, add salt and garlic to taste when it is almost cooked, and then add a small amount of white vinegar or diced tomatoes. The eggplant fried in this way does not turn black and tastes delicious.
This is because, when there is a lot of oil, the eggplant is wrapped in oil as soon as it is put in the pot, which first isolates the air. The oil temperature is already high, and the heat transfer of oil is faster than that of water, so the temperature of eggplant rises quickly. Above 70 degrees, most of the enzymes lose their activity. Add vitamin c in tomatoes and acid in vinegar, and it has no chance of making trouble at all! Stir-fried eggplant in this way can keep a good-looking color even if it is not peeled.
When cooking roasted eggplant, the enzyme has been fully killed because the eggplant pieces have to be fried thoroughly in the oil pan first, and it will not turn black again after being fished out and put in other seasonings.
Why do most people fry eggplant black? First of all, too little oil can not be fully isolated from the air, and the enzyme can not be completely inactivated by scalding, leaving behind future troubles. Then, salt and soy sauce are put too early, and a lot of water is marinated, which is conducive to the full proximity of enzymes and phenols; The temperature of water rises slowly, so the surface temperature of eggplant is also low, which creates an opportunity for the enzyme to survive. If you add some cold water, it will be even worse: by the time the eggplant is cooked, it will already be dark!
At the same time, it should be noted that eggplant skin is rich in "anthocyanin", which is a water-soluble natural pigment. If boiled in water, or the temperature is too low when cooking, put salt too early, or put too much vinegar to dissolve the pigment in the eggplant skin, it will also make the color gray and purple.
Even so, don't throw away the eggplant skin! Among them, anthocyanins and flavonoids are important antioxidant and anti-aging substances, and they are the treasures in eggplant! There is a dish in old Beijing called "Fried Eggplant Peel" which is a famous food!
Ok, now everyone understands how to make eggplant beautiful! However, good-looking eggplant is inevitably oily, so be careful to get fat! If you want to eat eggplant dishes with low calories, it is best to steam and bake them. Steamed eggplant and mashed tomato, usually seasoned with vinegar, mashed garlic and sesame oil, are all famous cold dishes in the north!