Crispy Fried Eggplant

Ingredients:
-1 large eggplant, peeled and sliced (about 1/2 inch slices or so)
-2 eggs, whipped up
-Panko bread crumbs
-Salt and pepper
-Oil for frying

This recipe comes from my mom.  I love going home every few weekends while I am at school because A) I love to see my family and B) I am personally terrible at frying.  Don't get me wrong, we don't always have fried food.  But if we do, we want it to come from mom!

It isn't that I can't fry, I definitely am qualified. I more so just can't stand to do it because I don't really do all that well with hot grease and popping and it sometimes just turns into a bit of a frantic panicky mess.  I do skillet fry things every now and then however, preferably with butter...

Anyway, you want to pour out some panko on a plate, typically I whip up eggs in a bowl and dip things directly in them, unless I am doing longer fish filets in which case I adjust my battering devices.

Salt and pepper the eggplant once you have it peeled and sliced.  Get oil heating in a frying pan, a couple inches or so (amount varies depending on size and how many of these you want to throw in at once but enough that something could submerge in it).  Dip the slices in egg and next panko and fry until golden brown.

If you cut things real real thin you can do them in a skillet, but thicker slices end up kind of funky on the sides.  You want the thing you are frying to cook fairly evenly, so it can kind of be an all or nothing deal. Sometimes you just have to break out the bottle of oil and pour like you mean it.

Fried eggplant is a delicious side item for burgers or pretty much any meal as far as I am concerned, and it makes a great meatless option for things like eggplant parmesan.  You could eat it on a fancy fried eggplant sandwich if you like.

As for me, I just grab a fork and devour it as is, no fancy needed. 

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