Thai Eggplant are quite different than your usual eggplant variety. For one, they never get soft. These baseball-sized round fruit are also more versatile than your average aubergine and can be eaten both cooked and raw. Often, they are served pickled. Also, did I mention that they are amazingly prolific? Two plants have been enough for me to have a constant supply on hand.
The original eggplant came from H-Mart. I enjoyed these vegetables so much I crossed my fingers and hoped that the store purchased one would yield seedlings from the seeds inside. Not many popped up, but enough of them did so that I now have an endless supply.
For vegetarians, these eggplant do a great job of providing the satisfying crunch of other types of protein. You can use it in stir-fry and soup as well as salads.
Most recently, our family tried this [Northern Thai salad recipe from ThaiTable.com] It was wonderful. The solid crunch of eggplant and the accompanying seeds were an excellent texture addition to the fish-paste infused meat.
Growing the plant has turned out to be quite simple. Like tomatoes, eggplant prefer rich moist soil. The ground can dry out during the day, but should be watered daily. Keep it up, and the plant — which is fine as a container plant — will yield fruit throughout.