Thai(esque) curry

Some folks who visited Thailand once told me that what I call Thai curry has close to no resemblance to the real deal.  Whoops.

The Stuff
1 lbs meat (recommend brined chicken breast, pork shoulder, dark chicken meat, white fish, or 凍豆腐 or some combination of delicious mushrooms for vegan/vegetarian)
.5 lbs Chinese eggplant (about 1 fruit)
.25 lbs cherry tomatoes
~1 bunch of thai basil (or, "enough to be delicious")

The Curry
13.5-19 fl oz. coconut milk (creamy kind- mae ploy is best, chao koh is good enough) stored in the fridge.  Note, if using mae ploy, you can go up to 1.5 times all the other ingredients and have enough curry to flavor the stuff.  I like my curry extra-mega-filled with stuff and not so much leftover liquid, BTW.

1.5 TB-2TB curry paste (green, red, or yellow for vegetarian/vegans)
1.5 TB-2TB palm sugar (about half a 1" disc)
1.5TB-2TB fish sauce, pref. blow-torched
about half as much lime juice as sugar

Optional: zest of a half a lime (or several kaffir lime leaves if you can get them)

-Get your coconut milk out of the fridge and begin heating up just the solidified coconut fat.
-Preheat your broiler to high and get a rack ready to put some stuff about 2" away from the heating element
-Blowtorch the skin of the eggplant until blistered.  Cut into longitudinal quartered sections about 2" long.
-Broil the tomatoes and eggplant, cut side down.  When the tomatoes are just beginning to char they're done and so is the eggplant.
-When the coconut oil begins separating from the solids of the coconut fat, add the rest of the coconut liquid and 1.5TB each of the curry ingredients.  When each is incorporated, taste and adjust:

• Add curry paste to increase the spice/aroma
• Add fish sauce to increase salt/umami (flavor)
• Add sugar to negate saltiness/sourness/spiciness or add palm sugaryness
• Add lime juice to negate sweetness/add limeyness

I generally do it in that order, trying to be a little sparing on the sugar.  When everything's balanced, cook the simmered things (see below) if necessary.  Toss in the eggplant and tomatoes.  Once the eggplant is slightly softened and has a good texture (try a piece) add the basil and wilt.  Depending on your meat (or non-meat) of choice at some point in there you probably added your meat and your dish is now done.  Eat it with jasmine rice.

-Meats:

•  Pork shoulder: 1.5" cubes, then seasoned with salt and dusted with flour.   Cook by searing in some oil OR putting under the broiler and then simmering in the balanced curry until done (about 30 minutes)
• Brined chicken, prepare/cook just like kung pao chicken (the chicken pancake part, that is) and then add the stir-fried chicken to the balanced curry at the same time as adding the basil.
• Dark meat chicken, 1" cubes, salted, and dusted with flour.  Cook by searing in some oil OR putting under the broiler and then simmering in the balanced curry until done (about 10 minutes)
• Fish, cut into 1.5" segments and marinated with some grated ginger or curry paste or something to deal with the smell (or even lightly blow torched) and lightly coated with cornstarch, about 1 to 2 teaspoons until a light visible coasting is apparent.  Cook by stirring into the hot coconut milk at the very end after balancing the curry ingredients at the same time as adding the basil (see below).
• Tofu or mushrooms: no need to sear, just add to the balanced curry to simmer until appropriately tender.