I make a ton of Asian food. The flavor profiles always hits everything I’m looking for: sweet, salty, spicy and umami.
I came across this recipe when looking for sides for an Asian entree. This can be done with any veggie – eggplant, squash, zucchini, mushrooms – basically whatever you have in your veggie drawer
A few weeks ago I received a bunch of Asian eggplants in my CSA (Boston Organics) and decided to make this dish.
I was always interested in getting a CSA share but I never wanted to shell out $600 up front and end up with 10 lbs of beets or turnips. And then I found Boston Organics.
They deliver to your house (and are insured, so you can give them a key and they can drop the box inside). The deliveries are weekly or every other week and you can cancel anytime!! They also have a ‘no’ list, so they know what I don’t want in my share (for me it’s dill). Each box starts at $29 and we get 1/2 veggie-1/2 fruit every other week. It’s perfect for the 2 of us and I rarely go produce shopping!
Every once in a while, Boston Organics will throw in an ingredient I haven’t worked with and it gives me a chance to experiment. In the box below, I received garlic scapes – which were delicious grilled with a little bit of of olive oil, salt and pepper.
Ok, enough gushing about Boston Organics, here’s the eggplant recipe
Spicy Glazed Eggplant (click here to print recipe without pictures)
– 1 1/4 pounds Asian eggplants (about 4), trimmed, halved lengthwise, and cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
– 2 tablespoons mirin (Japanese sweet rice wine)
– 2 tablespoons soy sauce
– 1/2 teaspoon finely grated peeled ginger (use a Microplane)
– 1/8 teaspoon Japanese seven-spice powder (sometimes labeled “shichimi togarashi”) or Chinese 5-spice powder
– 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
– 1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1. Toss eggplant with 1 teaspoon salt and drain in a colander, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes. Rinse eggplant under cold water and dry well, pressing out any excess moisture.
2. In a small bowl, stir together mirin, soy sauce, ginger, and seven-spice powder. Set aside
3. Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium-high heat until it shimmers, then sauté eggplant until browned, about 8 minutes. Gently stir in mirin mixture and cook, turning frequently, until sauce becomes a glaze and eggplant is browned and tender, about 1 minute.
4. Serve hot or at room temperature, sprinkled with chives.
(adapted from Gourmet)