This dish contains a lot of flavors, but one distinguishes Indonesian cooking from almost every other: dried shrimp. These tiny crustaceans can be bought at most Asian markets and need only be soaked in hot water for a few minutes before use. (There’s also a shrimp paste, which requires no soaking; you can use this instead.) But, like nam pla—Southeast Asian fish sauce—dried shrimp are an acquired taste for many people. I like them, but I’ve also made this successfully without them when I fear guests will balk. Other vegetables you can prepare this way: I’ve never seen this without green beans, but certainly you could substitute any root vegetable for the carrot and zucchini or any other summer squash for the eggplant.

　　

Ingredients

makes 4 servings

　　2 tablespoons corn, grapeseed, or other neutral oil

　　2 tablespoons dried shrimp, optional

　　1 pound green beans, trimmed

　　1/2 pound carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices

　　1/2 pound eggplant, cut into 1-inch chunks

　　1 small fresh chile, stemmed, seeded, and minced, or 1 small dried chile, or to taste

　　2 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

　　5 nickel-sized slices peeled fresh ginger

　　1/3 to 1/2 pound ground pork or turkey, optional

　　1 large tomato, roughly chopped, or about 1 cup canned tomatoes, drained and chopped

　　1 1/2 cups coconut milk, homemade (page 584) or canned

　　1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

　　Salt to taste

　　1 cup roughly chopped fresh basil leaves, preferably Thai

　　

Step 1

Heat the oil in a large skillet over high heat. If you’re using them, soak the dried shrimp in hot water to cover. When the oil is hot, toss in the green beans and carrots. Cook, shaking the pan occasionally, for a minute, then add the eggplant, chile, garlic, and ginger. Again, cook and shake until the ingredients begin to brown. Crumble the meat if you’re using it and add it, then cook, stirring occasionally, until the meat begins to lose its color. Stir in the soaked shrimp and their liquid and lower the heat to medium.

　　

Step 2

Add the tomato and about half the coconut milk. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the coconut milk is just about evaporated, then add a little more. Meanwhile, toast the coconut in a dry skillet over medium heat, tossing from time to time until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.

　　

Step 3

Whenever the mixture threatens to dry out, add a little more coconut milk, cook until the carrot is tender, the coconut milk is used up, and the mixture is moist but not soupy. Stir in the toasted coconut, taste and add salt if necessary (it will be if you did not use the dried shrimp), then stir in the basil and serve.

　　The Best Recipes in the World by Mark Bittman. © 2005 by Mark Bittman. Published by Broadway Books. All Rights Reserved.MARK BITTMAN is the author of the blockbuster The Best Recipes in the World (Broadway, 2005) and the classic bestseller How to Cook Everything, which has sold more than one million copies. He is also the coauthor, with Jean-Georges Vongerichten, of Simple to Spectacular and Jean-Georges: Cooking at Home with a Four-Star Chef. Mr. Bittman is a prolific writer, makes frequent appearances on radio and television, and is the host of The Best Recipes in the World, a 13-part series on public television. He lives in New York and Connecticut.