Panko Eggplant with Chile-Yogurt Salsa

I came across this recipe through one of the cooking shows we watch, Simply Ming. Every episode, the chef, Ming Tsai, uses two "heroes" or highlight ingredients that he uses in all of his dishes, one hero is always from the west and the other hero is from the east. For this recipe, Greek yogurt and Sriracha sauce were the heroes.

Although it does not include the nutritional information, it should be healthy as it is vegetarian and the yogurt is fat free. The Sriacha sauce is something that I had seen, but never purchased and was at the regular grocery store. It has a nice kick that really added a lot of flavor. The second time I made this recipe, I used regular eggplant, rather than Japanese eggplant. If possible, use Japanese because the regular eggplant was a little stringy on the inside and wasn't as tasty. Out of 5, here is how I rank this dish:

Taste: 4.5
Health: 5
Ease: 5
Acquisition: 4

Note that sometimes these categories get weighted depending on how the dish ranks in the other categories, for example, because this dish was so easy to make and is healthy, the taste is weighted. It was great, but it was especially great because of the fact that it was so easy and healthy. (i.e. it's not lobster dripping in butter). For those of you who try this one out, let me know how you rate it! Here is the link: http://www.ming.com/foodandwine/recipes/simply-ming-season-7/panko-eggplant-with-chile-yogurt-salsa.htm


Ingredients

3 Japanese eggplant, halved lengthwise and scored diagonally
1 tablespoon sesame oil
3 tablespoons canola oil
2 tablespoons Sriracha
1 cup panko
1 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
3 scallions sliced thinly
1 large tomato, 1/2-inch dice
8 leaves Thai basil, fine ribbons
1 tablespoon sriracha


Directions

Pre-heat oven to low broil. Lay out eggplant and season. Mix together the oils and sriracha. Brush mixture onto sliced side of eggplant and dip into panko, place on baking dish. Moisten breadcrumbs on top with a drizzle of olive oil. Place tray on middle shelf. Cook until golden, brown and delicious, about 15-20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a bowl, combine Greek yogurt, scallions, tomato, basil and Sriracha, season and store salsa in fridge. To serve, plate with a few tablespoons salsa spooned over hot eggplant.