Here's a healthy vegetable recipe for you. It's also a great way to enjoy aubergine. I know that aubergine divides opinions - some people just don't like the slightly bitter flesh or the skin. But you'll find aubergine used a lot in Japanese cooking (the Japanese name for the aubergine is Nasu) - perhaps it is because Japanese varieties of aubergine tend to be less bitter and have thinner skins (they're smaller too).
I like to think that the way I prepare aubergine in this recipe would persuade most people that it's a great vegetable to eat - so what do I do? First, I soak the aubergine to extract some of the bitterness before baking it in the oven. When it's out of the oven and baked, I dress it with a sweet and sour dressing with a little hint of Chinese flavours about it by using a little toban djan chilli sauce. To make this even more healthy, I pair the aubergine with a small edamame and baby radish salad - so, all-in-all, a plate of health for lunch or a light supper and of course, it is suitable for vegans and vegetarians as well.
Would you like to try your hand at this? If so, you can find the Youtube tutorial Roasted Eggplant in Sweet Soy dressing or scroll to the bottom of the page. The written recipe is just below.
Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.
Want to pair this with another dish for a more sustaining meal. How about my Japanese Tamagoyaki sweet omelette. You can find the recipe here.
Japanese style roasted Aubergine
ingredients: (2 servings)
1 aubergine
2 tbsp sesame oil
3 tbsp rice vinegar
1.5 soy sauce
1/8 tsp ginger paste
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp toban djan (chinese chilli bean sauce)*
1/8 garlic paste
2 spring onions
80g frozen edamame
4 red radishes
30g peeled red onion
*a 1/2 tsp of chilli powder + 1/2 tsp of veg oil is ok as a substitute for toban djan
how to:
remove the aubergine stem, then halve lengthways. use a sharp knife to score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern. soak the aubergine flesh side down in water for 10 mins
to make the sauce, put the soy sauce, rice vinegar, ginger paste, sugar, toban djan and garlic paste in a bowl and mix well
chop the spring onion finely, add to the sauce and mix well
heat your oven to 180’C
brush the sesame oil onto a baking tray & roast the aubergine for about 25 mins
to prepare the salad:
simmer the edamame for 2-3 mins in boiling water
thinly slice the onion thinly and soak in water for 10 mins
remove the ends of the radish and thinly slice
mix the edamame, onion & radish together
once your aubergine is baked, remove it from the oven and place one half on each serving plate. place 1/2 of the edamame salad next to each aubergine when you serve and drizzle the aubergine with the sauce
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