Instructions

1. Wash the eggplants thoroughly and pat them dry with paper towels. Slice the eggplants into 1/4-inch thick rounds or whatever thickness your recipe calls for. You can peel them if you like, but the slices retain their shapes better if you leave the peels on.

2. Line enough microwave-safe plates to hold all of the eggplant slices in single layers. Arrange the slices on the plates in a single layer. Cover the slices with one paper towel per plate.

3. Place one plate of eggplant slices on top of another. Repeat with a third plate if needed, ending with an empty plate on the very top.

4. Place the stacked plates in the microwave and cook the eggplant slices for three minutes on high.

5. Unstack the plates and use folded paper towels to insulate your hand as you press firmly down on the eggplant slices to press out any remaining water or air.

6. Fill a shallow dish with 2 inches of milk. Beat an egg into it with a fork. Season the milk with whatever herbs and spices best complement you recipe. Fill a second shallow dish with panko breadcrumbs.

7. Dredge the eggplant in the milk-and-egg mixture and then coat them with the panko breadcrumbs.

8. Heat 1/2 inch of oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat until the oil shimmers. Canola oil and vegetable are good for this, as is olive oil because you will not heat it past its smoking point.

9. Fry a few eggplant slices at a time for one to two minutes per side, or until the panko breadcrumbs have turned a deep, golden brown. Turn them with tongs rather than a fork to avoid them sliding off of the fork into the hot oil and splashing you.

10. Drain the breaded and fried eggplant slices on a paper towel and continue with your meat-subtitution eggplant recipe.