Spicy Peanut Stew With Ginger and Tomato
- Total Time
- 1 hour
- Rating
- Notes
- Read community notes
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Ingredients
Yield:8 servings
- 1medium-size eggplant, peeled and cut into ½-inch dice
- 1teaspoon salt, more to taste
- 1teaspoon ground cumin
- 1teaspoon ground coriander
- ¼teaspoon turmeric
- ⅛teaspoon cayenne
- ¼cup peanut oil
- 2shallots, thinly sliced
- 2inches fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 1 to 2jalapeño chilies, seeded and minced
- 1onion, chopped
- ⅓cup tomato paste
- 1small (14.5 ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably roasted
- 4cups vegetable stock or water
- ½cup natural unsweetened peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
- 1medium-size zucchini, 6 to 8 ounces, cut in quarters lengthwise, then sliced ½ -inch thick
- 2tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 to 2 lemons)
- ⅓cup coarsely chopped cilantro leaves, plus whole leaves for garnish
- Cooked rice, for serving
- Chopped roasted salted peanuts, for garnish (optional)
Ingredient Substitution Guide
Nutritional analysis per serving (8 servings)
248 calories; 16 grams fat; 3 grams saturated fat; 0 grams trans fat; 7 grams monounsaturated fat; 4 grams polyunsaturated fat; 24 grams carbohydrates; 5 grams dietary fiber; 9 grams sugars; 7 grams protein; 408 milligrams sodium
Note: The information shown is Edamam’s estimate based on available ingredients and preparation. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
Powered byPreparation
- Step 1
In a colander, toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt; set aside for 30 minutes. Rinse, drain well and set aside. In a small bowl, combine cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne; set aside.
- Step 2
In a large pot, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add shallots and fry, stirring often, until soft, crisp and caramelized, about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer shallots to a large bowl, leaving oil in pot. Raise heat to high and add eggplant. Cook, stirring often, until lightly browned and just tender, about 10 minutes. Transfer to bowl with shallots.
- Step 3
Add remaining 1 tablespoon oil to pot and heat over medium-high heat. Add ginger and chilies and cook, stirring for 30 seconds. Add spices and cook, stirring, 30 seconds more. Add onion and cook, stirring to scrape up any browned bits, until softened and translucent, about 5 minutes. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring, 1 minute.
- Step 4
Add diced tomatoes, stock or water, eggplant, shallots and a sprinkling of salt. Bring to a boil and cook 5 minutes. Place peanut butter in a medium bowl, add one or two ladlefuls of hot soup, and stir until emulsified, then pour mixture back into soup.
- Step 5
Reduce heat to a simmer, add zucchini, cover and cook 10 to 15 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Turn off heat and stir in lemon juice and chopped cilantro. Let cool slightly and taste; add salt if necessary. Serve in bowls with rice, garnished with cilantro leaves and chopped peanuts, if desired.
Private Notes
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Cooking Notes
Chris
VERY tasty soup. Rather than frying the eggplant, I skipped the salting step and just roasted in a 425 degree oven.
Matt
Okay, here goes. It's going to be one of *those* reviews... sorry, folks.
4 stars as written; 4.5 to 5 with the following modifications, inspired by many existing comments:
- 2x eggplant, and roast it
- 3x spices
- ??x shallots (I used 1 lb)
- ??x ginger (I probably used 8-12 tablespoons)
- 3x jalepeño, leave the seeds in at least one
- 2-2.5x chunky peanut butter
- 2x zucchini
- 2x lemon juice
- + can of chickpeas (why not?)
- + scallions (ditto)
I can't stop eating this stuff.
Steve
This recipe looks delicious but I am an 80 year-old widower and a list of 18 ingredients is daunting. Many of the spices called for would be used once or twice and die on cabinet shelves. I would appreciate it is you and your staff could present some far simpler recipes . . . designed for dotage chefs.
Anna B
Do not make my mistake: "Hmm, I'll add an extra GIANT scoop of peanut butter just 'cuz." No no no... follow the recipe. Basically I had to eat peanut butter on rice for a week.
Theresa
How does a recipe that has 47 minutes of actual cooking time plus a half hour of eggplant-sitting time, plus prep (granted, some can be done during the eggplant-sitting time) come out to take 1 hour? NYT consistently underestimates time on recipes, which can make weeknights difficult for those who aren't in on the secret handshake.
Eric
Delicious.
The fired shallots are lovely, but they kind of get lost with everything else that's going on. I would skip them next time.
Also, the step of emulsifying the peanut butter with a bit of boiling soup is a pain. Better to add the peanut butter to the pot slowly, one spoonful at a time, stirring constantly.
Natural peanut butter (nothing but peanuts) is a must, as is the lemon juice.
Pair with a nice strong malty winter ale.
Ella
So delicious--a great flavorful base (though I increase the spices a bit and add garlic) to which you can add the veggies of your choosing. I've used sweet potatoes, winter squash, turnips, carrots, cauliflower, chickpeas, etc. in place of the eggplant and zucchini. I roast the root vegetables, rubbed in a little olive oil and the spices called for in the recipe, in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes before adding to the soup in the final step. Yum.
SH in SM
Great hack from my French uncle when he makes ratatouille - just microwave the eggplant! Faster, less mess to clean, and can use WAY less oil since eggplant completely soaks that stuff up.
JOANNE
substitute butternut squash for the eggplant
Jenny
I take back my previous post! When I tried this the next day, the flavors that had seemed masked by the peanut butter were transformed into something altogether new—the ginger, spices, tomatoes and fried onions had married into a warming, buttery, tangy magic. So note to self for next time: leave the ingredients as is, but make it to eat the next day!
Bevey
I made this as written with one exception - reducing the broth for a thicker result. I thought this was OK but I would not make again. There are many steps and It's time intensive. The end result was not worth the effort, for my taste. I agree with others that the shallots are totally lost amid the other flavors. They would make a better topping than mixed in. I used chunky peanut butter and felt it was a good choice for the texture variation it provided.
Lisa D
Fabulous. The spices as noted result in a pretty mild stew, so it really can easily bear adding almost 2x each spice plus a little unsweetened cocoa powder for depth (my go-to for a bass note in tomato-based stews and ragus). It’s all thicker and more piquant the next day. Top with plain yogurt and a custom gremolata of minced fresh ginger, garlic, cilantro and fresh lime. Bam.
Nancy K
The photo shows more of a stew than the soup this is. It really needed more vegetables but it's delicious. I added more zucchini which helped. Next I'll add even more vegetables. It freezes well
notes after making
Delicious! Not spicy enough- use two jalapeño next time. Used sweet potatoes instead of eggplant, worked well. Served with brown rice
mizbrown2u
The NYT Cooking App has supercharged my culinary life! But it would be more useful for those of us whose health requires dietary restrictions if the Times consistently provided nutritional info. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don't.
Gigi
Try reducing water/broth and adding coconut milk instead.
HB
This one was not a hit with our family, won’t repeat.
Ruby
So good the second night. Made it yesterday and was kinda disappointed (despite my dad and step mum saying they loved it), but tonight has wiped all of my disappointment. So yummy!
Vicki
I would cut the eggplant into bigger pieces, they kind of melted away
SnarkyCook
I have this on repeat! I'm one of those that added chickpeas. Frankly, you can add many things that make this wonderful. The basic recipe is simply divine and open to expansion! So healthy too.
BH90210
Kind of fussy, when you could just saute the eggplant then add everything else to saute before adding the tomatoes. It's nice though. I agree with everyone who commented on the shallots not being worth it. I think if they were tossed in cornstarch before being fried, the texture would have come through. Overall, this was tasty and even better the next day.
Benjamine
This was the worst recipe I ever made from here. It involved so many steps and the soup was runny and too acidic. My whole family was disappointed. I saved it by adding a bit of coconut milk and extra spices.
Rebekah
Double the spices at least. Make the sauce a day ahead. Made with eggplant cooked in the micro and scooped out of its' peel then diced, and roasted sweet potato. Lime chile peanuts, cilantro, lemon all added a good touch. Brown rice. Sourcream chive chicken cutlets along side and Oatmilk chocolate pudding made a perfect dinner for my vegan daughter and her nonvegan boyfriend.
cassidy
Okay, not bad. Not sure if I would make it again
sneha
One of my favorite recipes! My modifications: - Shallots: Gets lost in the stew adds more cooking time than the end result is worth. - Zucchini: I don’t like zucchini chickpeas (2 cans): works great with the flavors
Rob
I made this with tofu cubes instead of eggplant and it came out great.
KASM
We’ve tried this as is and also with sweet potato instead of eggplant and zucchini. With the sweet potato, it’s one of our favorite recipes!
TimL
Delicious. Per some of the feedback: - bumped up spices by about 1.5 times - fried the shallots in advance and kept them aside as topping after - used one whole jalapeño, and one seeded jalapeño These seemed to be all good decisions and I'd make it that way again next time.
Melinda
Tripled the spices. 1 1/2 jalapeño, 3T at least of minced ginger, roasted the eggplant, added can of chickpeas, topped with cilantro, peanuts and currants. Delicious
AFierro
Seriously, five stars? Lacks texture, flavor, and takes much too long for what one end up with. I have now a big pot of mess for leftovers. I plan to add cauliflower, butternut squash, and salt.
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