About the Recipe
Here is a great way to serve eggplant that will be both tasty and make the most of the soft texture of the eggplant's flesh. You might know eggplant as aubergine or brinjal if you are Indian (aubergine having originated in India.) In Japanese, this vegetable is known as "nasu". I'm not sure how this vegetable got to Japan from India but the Japanese are delighted that it did as it one of the country's most popular vegetables, prized for its goodness and texture - eggplant is very good for you, containing B1 and B6 vitamins along with an impressive list of minerals. It should be a regular at your table. If eggplant is something you rarely eat, I hope this recipe will change your mind. I serve this as a side dish but with a larger helping piled onto a bowl of rice, it makes an equally satisfying lunch or supper.
Ingredients
1 medium aubergine/eggplant
3 spring onions
1 cm / 1/2 inch of fresh ginger
2 tbsp vegetable oil
for the sauce:
1tsp sugar
1.5 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp water
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp Chinese toban djan or sriracha chilli sauce, or 1/4 tsp strong chilli powder
1 1/2 tbsp rice vinegar
1 - 2 tsp toasted sesame seeds for topping (optional)
Preparation
remove the stem of the eggplant. halve longways, then halve each piece again. next, cut diagonally into bite sized pieces
place all the pieces of eggplant into a bowl. cover with cold water and leave for 10 - 15 minutes. (this will reduce the bitter flavour of the eggplant flesh)
trim both end of the spring onions. slice them diagonally into small pieces and set aside
peel the skin from the ginger piece. slice and cut into fine shreds, then set aside
to prepare the sauce:
combine the sugar, soy sauce, mirin, water, sesame oil, Toban Djan and vinegar and mix well
heat the 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a medium frying pan. drain the eggplant and add the pieces to the pan. stir fry for 3 - 4 minutes until the eggplant begins to lightly brown, then add the ginger shreds and stir fry for a further 1-2 minutes
reduce the heat to medium and add the sauce. stir fry for 30 seconds
last, add the spring onions and stir for just another 10 seconds
pile the eggplant onto a serving plate
serve with bowls of rice