Baked Japanese Eggplant with Chicken

This recipe is common in the Vietnamese cuisine, especially in the Southern part of Vietnam. In poor families, the eggplant is grilled over an open flame and served with sweet and sour dipping sauce. Into additional creativity, this recipe can have added toppings, such as shrimp, crab, ground pork, or chicken.   Sometimes, I like to make this recipe with tofu as the topping for the Buddhist tradition. With a little imagination, this dark, purple vegetable is full of nutrition and can be very tasty.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 long Japanese eggplants (aubergine)
1 chicken breast, ground into small pieces
1 shallot, sliced and fried
1 garlic clove, minced
2 green onion, finely sliced, separate the white part
1/4 cup chopped cilantro 
Salt and pepper to taste

Vietnamese dipping sauce :
1 red hot chili, sliced
2 tbs fish sauce
2 tbs water
1 tsp sugar
1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar

Directions:
Cut eggplant in half and brush with olive oil. Bake in a preheated oven set to 350° for 30 minutes or until the flesh is soft.  
In a sauté pan, fry the shallot until crispy and remove from oil.
In a sauté pan, add 1 tbs of shallot oil into the pan. Add ground chicken and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic and continue to cook the chicken until no longer pink. Add onion, the white part. Season with salt and pepper. 
Pour the chicken on top of the eggplant and sprinkle with cilantro and fried shallot. Serve with rice and the Vietnamese dipping sauce. The Vietnamese dipping sauce can be added into the chicken at the end of the cooking time.