Who would want to turn on the stove or the oven during the hot summer days? I’m definitely not one of the exceptions, so I’ve been making a lot of salads lately. And, recently I’ve came across a very interesting Japanese cookbook that contains many simple and classic dish. Among them, the Eggplant and Spring Onion Salad really caught my eye and I just had to try it out!
The most unique part of this salad was its dressing. It uses a great deal of soy sauce as its base and only contains a splash of rice vinegar and sesame oil to round out the flavours. At first I imagined the dressing may be too salty but after I drizzled it onto the eggplant slices, the flavour was not overpoweringly salty at all. In fact, the dressing was full of umami flavour with a nice ting from the rice vinegar and an enticing aroma from the sesame oil.
This salad took little effort to put together, yet it was a fabulous way to showcase the flavour and texture of the eggplant. Although the dish that I made did not turn out as pretty as the picture I saw in the book, I was still quite pleased with the final outcome. I will definitely be making this dish again!
2 medium Asian eggplants, sliced into thin strips (I’ve also tried this with baby eggplants, works equally well)
1 tablespoon grated ginger (use a microplane zester, works wonderfully)
1/3 cup low sodium soy sauce
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons sake
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 teaspoon sesame oil
2 teaspoons sugar
3 tablespoons bonito flakes (I didn’t have any so I added in a pinch of bonito powder to add flavour)
1 spring onion, thinly sliced
Directions:
Arrange the eggplant slices on a plate in a steamer over a pot of simmering water. Cover and steam for 10 minutes, or until the slices have softened. Remove from pot and drain any water that has collected inside the plate. Let cool.
In a large bowl, mix together the ginger, soy sauce, mirin, and sake. Heat the mixture gently to cook off the alcohol (either heating the mixture in a saucepan or microwave it for 15 – 20 seconds). Remove from heat (or take it out from the microwave) and stir in the rice vinegar, sesame oil and sugar. Stir the mixture well to dissolve the sugar. (I added in a pinch of bonito powder as well)
Pour the dressing over the eggplant slices. Top with bonito flakes (if using) and spring onion slices. Serve immediately.
Japanese Eggplant Salad
Who would want to turn on the stove or the oven during the hot summer days? I’m definitely not one of the exceptions, so I’ve been making a lot of salads lately. And, recently I’ve came across a very interesting Japanese cookbook that contains many simple and classic dish. Among them, the Eggplant and Spring Onion Salad really caught my eye and I just had to try it out!
The most unique part of this salad was its dressing. It uses a great deal of soy sauce as its base and only contains a splash of rice vinegar and sesame oil to round out the flavours. At first I imagined the dressing may be too salty but after I drizzled it onto the eggplant slices, the flavour was not overpoweringly salty at all. In fact, the dressing was full of umami flavour with a nice ting from the rice vinegar and an enticing aroma from the sesame oil.
This salad took little effort to put together, yet it was a fabulous way to showcase the flavour and texture of the eggplant. Although the dish that I made did not turn out as pretty as the picture I saw in the book, I was still quite pleased with the final outcome. I will definitely be making this dish again!
Japanese Eggplant and Spring Onion Salad
Serves 2.
Adapted from Basic Japanese Cooking.
Ingredients:
Directions: