Japanese Eggplant Food

JAPANESE EGGPLANT (AUBERGINE) SAUTE

Steps:

• Combine Soy sauce, mirin, crushed garlic and ginger in a bowl.
• Slice your eggplant thinly and into small pieces.
• Toss eggplant in hot pan (I use a spray oil like Pam) with the sauce mixture.
• Sauté at a medium heat until very tender, about 10 minutes.
• Add a little water to keep the veg moist if necessary.
• Great as a side dish for fish or chicken.
• Add diced medium firm tofu or any other protein for a very simple, quick meal.

GRILLED JAPANESE EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Place eggplant in a large shallow baking dish. Mix together the soy sauce, sherry, sesame oil, and garlic in a small bowl. Pour the marinade over the eggplant and let marinate at room temperature for 1 hour. Preheat grill. Season the eggplant with salt and pepper to taste and grill on each side for 3 minutes, basting occasionally with the remaining marinade. Serve topped with the toasted sesame seeds.

CHICKEN ADOBO WITH FILIPINO FRIED RICE AND CHARRED JAPANESE EGGPLANT

Steps:

• For the chicken: Heat a large, high-sided pan over medium-high heat. Add the black peppercorns and toast for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant, shaking the pan to evenly distribute. Transfer to a spice grinder and grind. Add 3 tablespoons of the canola oil to the pan and heat over medium-high heat until shimmering. Pat the chicken dry and season liberally with kosher salt. Reduce the heat to medium. Place the chicken into the pan skin-side down and sear without moving the chicken until the skin pulls away from the bottom of the pan and begins to brown, 7 to 8 minutes. Flip the chicken and cook until browned on the other side, another 5 minutes. Remove the chicken from the pan. Discard the excess cooking oil and add the remaining 2 tablespoons of canola oil to the pan.
• Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, 5 minutes. Add the soy sauce, vinegar, palm sugar, garlic, bay leaves, ground black pepper and 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and add the chicken back to the pan. Cover and cook until an instant-read thermometer registers 160 degrees F when inserted into the center of the chicken, 15 minutes. Remove the chicken and allow to rest. Continue to cook the sauce, uncovered, until thickened and reduced, 5 minutes.
• For the charred eggplant: Add the white vinegar, sugar and bay leaf to a small saucepan. Heat over medium high and bring to a simmer for 2 minutes. Stir to dissolve the sugar, then turn off the heat and set aside.
• Preheat a grill pan to high heat. Brush the inside of the Japanese eggplants with olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt and black pepper. Place the eggplants on the grill pan, flesh-side down, and grill until slightly charred and there are grill marks on the underside, 3 to 4 minutes. Flip, then grill another 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer the eggplants to a cutting board and slice on the bias into 2-inch pieces. Add the eggplant to a bowl with the onions and tomatoes. Pour the pickling liquid over the vegetables and toss to combine.
• For the fried rice: Heat the canola oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Add the butter and swirl the pan to melt. Add the garlic and annatto powder and cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant and the garlic starts to lightly brown, 2 minutes. Add the cooked rice and toss to combine, making sure the rice is fully coated with the garlic and annatto mixture. Cook the rice, stirring occasionally, until it starts to get crispy, 5 minutes.
• To serve, place a chicken leg and thigh onto each plate, spoon the sauce around the chicken and garnish with the sliced scallions. Serve with the fried rice and charred pickled eggplant. Drizzle the eggplant with a little olive oil.

JAPANESE EGGPLANT, TERIYAKI STYLE

Steps:

• Heat broiler.
• Using a sharp knife, lightly score eggplant flesh in a criss-cross pattern.
• Arrange the eggplant skin side up in a single layer on a non-stick broiler pan.
• Lightly brush with half the oil; broil 4 inches away from heat source for 3 minutes or until dimpled but not charred.
• Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine soy sauce, sugar and mirin.
• Turn eggplant slices over and brush with remaining oil; broil 1 minute.
• Brush with soy sauce mixture; broil 1 more minute more until eggplant is tender when it's pierced with a knife.
• Sprinkle with scallions before serving.

JAPANESE EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Place olive oil and garlic in a medium saucepan. Place over medium-high heat and cook, swirling pan occasionally, until garlic is evenly browned. Remove from heat and transfer garlic to a large bowl. Add moro miso and whisk until combined; set aside.
• Cut eggplants on the bias, starting at one end, and alternating the direction of the bias with each cut, forming triangular shapes. Cut each triangular piece in half again.
• Add enough grapeseed oil to a large skillet to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat oil over medium-high heat and add eggplant. Fry eggplant until outside is crispy and center is soft, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.
• Squeeze limes over eggplant and transfer to a large bowl. Add 3 tablespoons miso mixture and shiso leaves, keeping any remaining miso mixture in an airtight container, refrigerated up to 3 days. Toss to combine. Serve immediately.

JAPANESE EGGPLANT WITH SICHUAN PEPPER

Steps:

• Slice the eggplant into 1 to 2-inch segments, depending on the width of the eggplant. Set up a steamer on the stovetop. Season the segments with salt. Place the eggplant in the steamer in a single layer and cook until softened, about 8 minutes. Cool on paper towels.
• For the vinaigrette, trim the garlic cloves and mash gently with the side of your knife, then finely chop the garlic. Peel and chop the ginger root.
• Trim and slice the scallion on a bias. Save the white part for the vinaigrette and the green part for a finishing garnish. Keep the greens fresh by covering them with a moist, cool paper towel. Chop the cilantro.
• To assemble the vinaigrette, put the three oils and the Sichuan peppercorns in a small pot set over low heat. Heat until sizzling, then strain out the peppercorns. Discard the peppercorns and put the oil back into the pot. Add the garlic and ginger and heat until sizzling but not browned. Add the scallion whites and Sichuan bean paste and stir. Add the black vinegar, soy, mirin, wine, sugar, sesame seeds and cilantro and bring to a boil.
• Transfer the vinaigrette to a bowl and cool. Put the eggplant in a serving dish and season with the cooled sauce (depending on eggplant size, you may not need all the sauce-the sauce keeps for a week refrigerated) and sprinkle with the scallion greens. Finish with freshly ground black pepper, if you'd like a little more peppercorn flavor.