Recipes, re-invented from cooking shows
Crispy Wok-Charred Eggplant with Reaper Glaze
Prep. Time:
Baking Time:
Total Time:
5 minutes
8 minutes
13 minutes
Serves:
4 servings (as part of the full dish); 2 servings standalone
Laurence created this dish for Top Chef ™ Season 23. This preparation captures the intensity of high-heat wok cooking — eggplant rounds charred until almost blackened at the edges and lacquered in a fast-reducing glaze of honey, soy, rice vinegar, and fresh Carolina Reaper. A genuinely smoking-hot w...
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Ingredients
CRISPY WOK-CHARRED EGGPLANT WITH REAPER GLAZE Chinese eggplant | 2 medium | 300 g | Sliced into ½-inch rounds Neutral oil, peanut or grapeseed | 4 tbsp | 60 ml | High smoke-point essential Carolina Reaper, sliced thin | ¼ Reaper | ~0.5 g | Wear gloves Honey | 1 tbsp | 20 g Soy sauce | 1 tbsp | 15 ml Rice vinegar | 1 tsp | 5 ml Toasted sesame seeds | 1 tsp | 3 g | To finish
Method
CRISPY WOK-CHARRED EGGPLANT WITH REAPER GLAZE 1. Heat a wok over the highest possible flame until it begins to smoke. Add 4 tablespoons of oil and immediately lay in the eggplant rounds in a single layer. Do not move them for 90 seconds — you want a genuine char on the contact surface. Flip and char the other side for another 60–90 seconds. The eggplant should be deeply golden, almost blackened at the edges, and tender within. 2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the sliced Carolina Reaper and cook for 30 seconds. Add the honey, soy sauce, and rice vinegar and stir vigorously — the mixture will bubble and reduce quickly. Return the charred eggplant to the wok and toss to coat in the glaze for 30–45 seconds. Scatter with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately — this preparation loses its textural contrast once cooled.
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Instructions
CRISPY WOK-CHARRED EGGPLANT WITH REAPER GLAZE
1. Heat a wok over the highest possible flame until it begins to smoke. Add 4 tablespoons of oil and immediately lay in the eggplant rounds in a single layer. Do not move them for 90 seconds — you want a genuine char on the contact surface. Flip and char the other side for another 60–90 seconds. The eggplant should be deeply golden, almost blackened at the edges, and tender within.
2. Reduce heat to medium. Add the sliced Carolina Reaper and cook for 30 seconds. Add the honey, soy sauce, and rice vinegar and stir vigorously — the mixture will bubble and reduce quickly. Return the charred eggplant to the wok and toss to coat in the glaze for 30–45 seconds. Scatter with toasted sesame seeds and serve immediately — this preparation loses its textural contrast once cooled.
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Ingredients
CRISPY WOK-CHARRED EGGPLANT WITH REAPER GLAZE
Chinese eggplant | 2 medium | 300 g | Sliced into ½-inch rounds
Neutral oil, peanut or grapeseed | 4 tbsp | 60 ml | High smoke-point essential
Carolina Reaper, sliced thin | ¼ Reaper | ~0.5 g | Wear gloves
Honey | 1 tbsp | 20 g
Soy sauce | 1 tbsp | 15 ml
Rice vinegar | 1 tsp | 5 ml
Toasted sesame seeds | 1 tsp | 3 g | To finish
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