Most chefs will tell you that the best recipes start with a memory, and for Silver Iocovozzi, one recipe in particular stands out: grilled eggplant smothered in a vibrant tomato sauce that she first tried on a beach in the Philippines.
Iocobotzi, who grew up in North Carolina, runs Nen Jr. in Asheville with her husband, Cherry. Iocobotzi’s father is a U.S. military officer, and her mother, Nen, is from the Philippines (her mother’s nickname was Nen, and Iocobotzi was called Nen Jr. as a child because she looked so much like her mother). The small restaurant has become popular nationwide for its menu that combines Filipino cuisine with ingredients and cooking techniques from the Appalachian region. The eggplant, a customer favorite, was the idea for the morning he spent with his uncle on the beach near his home in Batangas City during a visit to his mother’s hometown in 2018.
“Tito Arnold is a jolly kid, always up for some fun,” Iocobotzi says. “He’d woken up early, before it got too hot, enjoying the beach, and this woman came walking towards us with a bag of eggplants.” His uncle bought some eggplants, started a fire, and pressed the coals into a pyramid shape to roast the eggplants. Talon He fried them, in Tagalog, until they were nearly black. He served them in banana-leaf bowls and topped them with an irresistible blend of tomato and coriander with fish sauce. “It was one of the most memorable dishes I had in the Philippines,” Iocobotzi says.
This is an easy dish to recreate at home; he prefers Japanese eggplant because it takes on a custard-like texture when baked. Avoid ones that are too hard, he advises; you want one that is soft when pressed with your thumb.
Grilling eggplant requires a bit of patience. If you grill it too quickly, the flesh won’t be as creamy, which is essential in eggplant dishes. Wait until the skin has darkened. When it’s done, the eggplant should release a little steam.
Think of the topping as a juicy salsa. Sliced Sungold or other cherry tomatoes work well, but so do some roughly uniform cuts of delicious tomatoes from your summer garden. Choose tomatoes that are as flavorful as possible. “I like to let the ingredients speak for themselves,” says Iocobotzi.
You can chill the mixture ahead of time and pour it over the steamed eggplant for an even hot-cold contrast, but it’s fine to make it just before serving. Like much of Neng Jr.’s menu, the dish reflects a fusion of the best cuisines. Iocobotzi grew up on Filipino food, but one of the first restaurants he worked at was a barbecue joint in Eastern Carolina. “Across cultures, there’s an appreciation for open-fire cooking,” he says. “I try to stay true to my mother’s flavors and the food I grew up on, but I want it to taste authentic to this place.”
