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Eggplant and green peppers with miso
My aunt in Tottori, Japan, is an awesome cook. They farm rice and market miniature vegetables such as tiny Japanese eggplants and zucchini. She isn't a fancy cook, more of a comfort food cook. She utilizes seasonal ingredients she has on hand and from her garden. She served this dish with sekihan, a Japanese rice with azuki beans, and we all loved it. Japanese eggplants are a Yamamoto fave! I searched for this recipe when I got home, and came across "Japanese Home Style Cooking" from The Better Home Association of Japan. Here's my take on my aunt's dish. I hope you'll enjoy it! Ingredients
- 5 Japanese eggplants
- 2 green peppers
- 4 T sesame oil
- 2 1/2 T white miso
- 1 T sugar
- 2 T mirin
- 2 t sake
- 2 t dashi (instant's ok, but read on to make your own)
Directions
- Cut stems off eggplants. Remove lengthwise strips of skin at intervals, so that you end up with a striped eggplant, then cut into 1/2" rounds. Soak them in water 5 minutes, then drain well.
- Seed peppers and cut into 1" squares.
- Saute eggplants in sesame oil over high heat until about half-cooked. Add peppers and continue to cook until the veggies soften.
- Add miso and sugar, and continue to saute until the miso coats the veggies.
- Add mirin, sake and dashi, and cook over medium heat until the liquid is absorbed. Don't overcook the veggies.
- For dashi, combine 2 C water and 1/2 C dried bonito flakes. Bring to a boil. Turn off heat and let sit until the flakes sink to the bottom. Strain.
- For a richer dashi, I first soak a 4" length of konbu (dried kelp) in the water for 30 min, then heat the water. When it begins to bubble, remove the konbu, and proceed with the bonito flakes when it comes to a full boil. If the konbu boils, it gets slimy and the flavor overwhelms the bonito.
- I freeze the leftovers in a ziplock, and break off what I need, or try an ice cube tray.
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