I made this simmered eggplant dish as a side for the wagyu teriyaki. I adapted the recipe for Spicy Eggplant from “Japanese Cooking: A Simple Art” and the result was delicious. If you serve it in a nice bowl (as you should with any Japanese food), the result will be impressive even though it’s quite easy to make (if you had already made the dashi anyway, that is). I used a western eggplant rather than small Japanese eggplants (which are not available around here), and I replaced the dried red peppers with shichimi togarashi because that is what I had on hand.
Ingredients
For 4 servings
1/2 eggplant
250 ml (1 cup) dashi
1 Tbsp mirin
4 Tbsp sugar
2 Tbsp Japanese soy sauce
oil for frying
shichimi togarashi
Preparation
Peel the eggplant. Cut the eggplant in 1/2 cm (1/4 inch) slices, and cut the slices into quarters. I used 8 slices of similar size from the middle (widest) part, and reserved the remaining eggplant for another use.
You could also leave the skin on, but the skin will be chewy so I like it better without.
Fry the eggplant slices over high heat in abundant oil.
Fry until golden on both sides.
Add dashi, mirin, sugar, soy sauce, and shichimi togarashi to taste. Cover with a lid and let this simmer over medium heat for 10 minutes.
At the end the liquid should be reduced somewhat, otherwise remove the lid for the final part of the simmering.
Serve in individual bowls with some of the simmering liquid.
Stefan's Gourmet Blog 
Very nice. The eggplant must add a nice smokiness to the proceedings. The other flavours must make it very pleasing.
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Thanks, Conor. The dashi also adds some great smokiness (coming from the bonito flakes).
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I really don’t know a lot about Japanese cooking. It is a whole future chapter for me. Looking forward to it. For example, I had never heard of bonito flakes before reading this. What ignorance!
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If you do want to venture into Japanese cooking, I could definitely recommend the book I mentioned in the post. It is written by a Japanese chef, Shizuo Tsuji, for foreigners with a detailed explanation of all the ingredients. Bonito, a member of the mackerel family, is dried and shaved to make the flakes.
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This looks so good! I like the fusion thing going on here lately. I guess I have to make this on a different night from the mushroom risotto, though. 🙂
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Mushroom pappardelle, I mean–I have risotto on the brain now that it’s cold here. 🙂
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Thanks. If you do make them on the same night, have the pappardelle first, as the eggplant has a much stronger flavor.
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The Tsuji book is great isn’t it? Good explanation of fish cutting especially!
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You inspired me to cook Japanese tonight. We will see the results on tomorrow’s post…
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Great, looking forward to that!
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I haven’t had the courage to make anything Japanese.. except sushi. Thanks for sharing a wonderful recipe.. Now I’m off to see what dashi is:D
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Looks great! I like simmering eggplant with miso and spring onions — another way of of cooking eggplant, Japanese-style!
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