Chicken

Pour boiling water over eggplant and let stand 5 minutes or more. Drain eggplant well. 

Mix corn starch and soy sauce into chicken strips.

Heat pan and add oil. Fry chili peppers then remove them. 

Fry chicken until cooked.

Add drained eggplant, garlic, ginger and red peppers. If using cayenne, add it as well. Fry for a minute or two.

Add chicken stock and cook until eggplant is soft. Add more stock if it starts to stick.

Serve with white rice.

First, make the sauce. Take the tamarind pulp (a block about 1 x 2 in (2.5 x 5 cm) and mix it with ½ cup boiling water (you can add a little more if needed to dissolve the paste). Break up the pulp in the hot water, and then press the mixture through a fine-meshed strainer. Discard the solids. To the liquid tamarind concentrate you just made, add the sugar, fish sauce, Thai black soy sauce, Thai sweet soy sauce (if using), and white pepper. Set aside.