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Hero shot of Shrimp Flavoured Steamed Eggplant served on a large plate.
Shrimp Flavoured Steamed Eggplant
Prep Time
5 mins
Cook Time
10 mins
Total Time
15 mins
 

When you eat a mouthful of Shrimp Flavoured Steamed Eggplant, you will be amazed that simple steamed eggplant can taste so good. The sauce and the toppings are packed with umami from the dried shrimp. It is by far the most flavoursome steamed eggplant in my view.

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.

NOTE: In making my Shrimp Flavoured Steamed Eggplant, I referenced the recipe in the Japanese cooking website, ORYOURIMATOME, https://oryouri-matome.com/easy-good/recipe1027.html. The quantity of the ingredients was changed to suit to my palate. The original recipe uses a microwave to steam the eggplant, but I changed it to use a steamer. However, I have included the microwave method in the notes.

Recipe Type: Side
Cuisine: Japanese
Keyword: eggplant recipe, shrimp recipes
Serves: 4
Author: Yumiko
Ingredients (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)
  • 400g / 0.9lb eggplant (I used 2 large eggplants, note 1)
  • 2 tbsp dried shrimp (paper-thin dried shrimps, note 2)
  • 3 tbsp green onions , finely chopped
Soy-Sesame Dressing
  • 2-3 tsp soy sauce (note 3)
  • ½ tbsp shiro dashi (note 4)
  • ½ tbsp dark sesame oil
  • tsp grated ginger
Instructions
  1. Cut the stem off the eggplant and peel the skin. Halve the eggplant vertically, then quarter each half vertically to make long wedges (note 5).

  2. Place the eggplant wedges in a steamer, without overlapping. Steam for 10 minutes (note 6). The eggplant pieces should be soft and limp when picked up.

  3. If the eggplant is very wet, gently squeeze the eggplant pieces to get some water out. Cool them down slightly.

  4. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. Scatter the dried shrimp and dry roast them for a couple of minutes. Transfer the shrimp to mortar and pestle, grind them until they become coarse powder.

  5. Put all the Soy-Sesame Dressing ingredients in a jar/bowl and mix well.

  6. Plate the eggplants on a serving plate, making a flat mound. Pour the Soy-Sesame Dressing, scatter the green onions and the shrimp powder.

Recipe Notes

1. Instead of large fat eggplant, you can use skinny eggplant or short eggplant.

2. Paper-thin dried shrimps are called ‘sakura ebi’ (桜海老) in Japanese. They are different from the meaty dried shrimps (see the photo in the post comparing these).

In Sydney, you probably can't find sakura ebi. But you can buy paper-thin dried shrimp at Asian grocery stores that are similar to sakura ebi. I used dried shrimp made in Korea in this recipe. Please see the sample photos in the post.

3. The original recipe called for 3 teaspoons, but I found that it was a bit too salty to my palate. You can always measure 2 teaspoons, then add extra later if necessary.

4. If you don’t have shiro dashi, I recommend using a strong dashi stock combined with mirin and salt instead. In place of ½ tbsp of shiro dashi, combine ⅛ tsp granular dashi powder, ½ tsp warm water, ½ tsp mirin, and a pinch of salt.

5. If you prefer shorter wedges, you can halve the length of the wedges.

6. Instead of using a steamer to cook the eggplant pieces, you can microwave them. But the steamer cooks the eggplant more evenly than a microwave.

To cook eggplant using a microwave, spread the eggplant pieces on a microwave-safe plate without overlapping, splash on a small amount of water, then cover with cling wrap. Microwave for 7 minutes at 600W.

7. Nutritions per serving.

serving: 121g calories: 57kcal fat: 2g (4%) saturated fat: g (%) trans fat: 0g polyunsaturated fat: g monounsaturated fat: g cholesterol: 9.2mg (9%) sodium: 244mg (10%) potassium: 266mg (7%) carbohydrates: 7.4g (2%) dietary fibre: 3.1g (13%) sugar: 4.4g protein: 2.4g vitamin a: 0% vitamin c: 5.3% calcium: 0.9% iron: 3.1%