The Thai eggplant is a variety of eggplant used primarily in Thai cuisine. The most common eggplants in Thai cooking are the round white or green ones about the size of a golf ball. Common cultivar types in Thailand are Thai Purple, Thai Green, Thai Yellow, and Thai White.

Thai eggplants are essential ingredients in curry

Curry

Curry is a generic description used throughout Western culture to describe a variety of dishes from Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri Lankan, Thai or other Southeast Asian cuisines...

 dishes. In green

Green curry

Green curry is a variety of curry in Thai cuisine. The name "green" curry derives from the color of the dish. Other Thai curry dishes are identified solely by their colors, such as yellow and red curry. Green curries tend to be as hot as red curries, both being hotter than phanang/padang curries...

 and red curry

Red curry

Red curry is a popular Thai dish consisting of curry paste to which coconut milk is added. The base is properly made with a mortar and pestle, and remains moist throughout the preparation process. The main ingredients are garlic, shallots, red chili peppers, galangal, shrimp paste, salt, kaffir...

, Thai eggplants are quartered and cooked in the curry sauce where they become softer and absorb the flavor of the sauce.

In many Thai restaurants in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

, Thai eggplants are usually replaced by the large purple eggplants common in that country.

See also

• Lao eggplant
  Lao eggplant
  The Lao eggplant , also known as Lao aubergine, is a local variety of Kermit eggplant found in Laos and used primarily in Lao cuisine. Common cultivar types in Laos are Lao Green Stripe, Lao Purple Stripe, Lao Lavender, and Lao White...
  
  for common cultivar types in Laos such as Lao Green Stripe, Lao Purple Stripe, Lao Lavender, and Lao White