I call it Infinite Eggplant because it is so good that you can eat it forever, i.e., infinitely. The vinegary, sweet soy flavour of the marinade goes so well with sautéed eggplant. It is a perfect side dish to go with rice. You can also serve it on Sōmen or vermicelli noodles with the marinade poured over them. See the video.
Use vegetarian dashi stock to make it vegan.
Don't forget to see the section 'MEAL IDEAS' below the recipe card! It gives you a list of dishes that I have already posted and this recipe that can make up a complete meal. I hope it is of help to you.
- 3 thin eggplants (about 300g/0.7lb, note 1)
- 3 tbsp oil
- 3 tbsp vinegar
- 3 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp mirin
- 4 tbsp dashi stock
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- ½ cup green onions finely chopped
- ¼-½ tsp rāyu (or chilli oil)
-
Put 1 heaped tablespoon of green onions aside for serving.
-
Put all the Marinade ingredients and the rest of green onions in a microwave-safe container and mix.
-
Microwave at 600W for 50-60 seconds.
-
Trim the stem off each eggplant and halve it vertically.
-
Place halved eggplants on a cutting board facing the flesh side down. Score the skin side of each piece diagonally at 5mm/3⁄16" intervals. The incision should be about ⅔ deep.
-
Cut the scored piece crosswise into 4 bite-size pieces of similar length (note 2).
-
Heat oil in a large frying pan at medium low heat.
-
Place the eggplant pieces, skin side down (note 3), and cook for 2-3 minutes.
-
Turn them over and cook for a couple of minutes with a lid on, until the eggplant becomes very soft (note 4).
-
Immediately transfer the eggplant into a container and add the marinade while the eggplant pieces are hot.
-
Gently press down the eggplant pieces above the liquid to submerge them in the marinade as much as possible.
-
Transfer the eggplant with a couple of tablespoons of marinade to serving bowls (I had 24 pieces of eggplants, so 6 pieces in each serving bowl. Scatter green onions on top (note 5).
-
If you are not serving immediately, put a lid on the container and leave it in the fridge for up to 2 days. You can serve them warm, at room temperature, or cold.
1. Thin eggplants are the best for this dish. Depending on the length of your thin eggplant, you may need more than 4 eggplants. My thin eggplants were 18-20cm/7-8″ long and about 4cm/1½” wide.
You can use a large eggplant if you can’t get thin eggplant, but you will need to use more oil to cook the eggplant pieces.
2. Depending on the length of your whole eggplant, you may cut it into 3 or 5 pieces. The length of my eggplant pieces was about 4-5cm/2" long.
If you are using a large eggplant, after scoring the halved eggplant, halve it again vertically, then cut it crosswise into bite-size pieces. See the photo in the post.
3. The white eggplant flesh is extremely absorbent, and oil will be sucked into it quickly. Cooking the skin side first minimises the loss of the oil in the pan before the eggplant pieces are flipped over.
4. When you press a piece of eggplant, the eggplant flattens easily.
5. You can also serve eggplants on thin noodles such as Sōmen (see the photo in the post) or vermicelli.
6. Leftover marinade can be used as a dressing for Hiyayakko and Pork Shabu-shabu Salad.
7. Nutrition per serving. It assume that 3/4 of the marinade was not consumed, which is likely the case.
serving: 110g calories: 130kcal fat: 12g (15%) saturated fat: 0.8g (4%) trans fat: 0.1g polyunsaturated fat: 2.2g monounsaturated fat: 7.9g cholesterol: 0mg (0%) sodium: 174mg (8%) carbohydrates: 6.3g (2%) dietary fibre: 2.6g (9%) sugar: 3.8g protein: 1.3g vitamin D: 0mcg (0%) calcium: 17mg (1%) iron: 0.4mg (2%) potassium: 225mg (5%)