Vegan MARINATED AUBERGINE Japanese sidedish

Vegan MARINATED AUBERGINE

茄子の揚げ浸し

Vegan Marinated Aubergine! One of my favourites Japanese side dish but it can be the king on your menu. Enjoy with some rice or wholemeal pasta, and save the sauce!

Mentsuyu is a very common Japanese sauce, but usually is made with bonito flakes. For this homemade mentsuyu I use kombu dashi powder to add some sea flavour to the mix (you can also use normal kombu. Just need to soak it in water overnight). Mentsuyu can be stored in the fridge for a month. It’s perfect for dipping cold soba in summer, even gyoza and tempura. いただきます!


Ingredients:

  • 2 small aubergines
  • olive oil
  • shiso
  • spring onion
  • salt

      Mentsuyu:

  • 1 Tbsp grated ginger
  • 3 Tbsp mirin
  • 3 Tbsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp kombu powder
  • 1 tsp sugar
  • 150ml water (¾ cup)
  1. For the mentsuyu: Mix water, kombu powder, sugar, soy sauce, mirin and ginger and set aside. (The original recipe uses Instead 1 Tbsp of sake + 2 Tbsp of mirin instead of 3 Tbsp of mirin.)
  2. Cut the aubergine in half. Make small cuts on the back and cut in half again. 
  3. Soak the aubergine in water with salt for 5 minutes, to remove the bitterness.
  4. After drying the aubergine, heat a nice amount of oil in a pan and fry until the colour of the skin gets purple and the sides golden. Add the mentsuyu and simmer for 3 minutes. 
  5. Put the marinated aubergine in a container to cool down. Let it set in the fridge for 2-3 hours (If you don’t have much time try to let it rest, at least, for 10 minutes).
  6. You can use spring onions and shiso to garnish (they are also tasty but not necessary for the recipe). 
  7. Serve with rice, pasta, or eat with other side dishes.

Enjoy this easy Vegan Marinated Aubergine 😉

 

VIDEO RECIPE: