Eggplant "Unagi"
This eggplant unagi (or rather, “unagi”) is indeed reminiscent of a Japanese eel, with a similar sweet, savory sauce. But instead of eel, the main event is eggplant!
- Prep time
- 5 min
- Cook time
- 25 min
- Yield
- 2 servings
- Difficulty
- MEDIUM
Ingredients
Quantities are shown as originally provided.
- 1 pound Japanese or Chinese eggplant ((about 2-3 eggplants))
- 2-3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 teaspoons light soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1/2 teaspoon dark soy sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon oyster sauce
- 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1/4 - 1/2 teaspoon sugar ((to taste))
- 1 scallion ((chopped))
- steamed rice ((for serving))
- 1 teaspoon toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- 1
Peel the eggplants, and slice them in half crosswise, so you have thick pieces that are about 6 inches (15 cm) long. Place the pieces in a heatproof dish.
- 2
Boil water in your steamer (or your wok with a bamboo steamer, or even just a pan with a steamer rack and lid. Read more about how to set up a steamer). Steam the eggplant over medium heat for 16-18 minutes, until a knife pierces through the eggplant easily.
- 3
After they’ve been steamed and are cool enough to handle, slice the steamed eggplants in half lengthwise, but not all the way through! Open each piece up like a book. Use two forks to open up the flesh of the eggplant even more. This creates more surface area for the sauce you’ll braise it in later.
- 4
Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Pan-fry the eggplant on both sides until golden brown on each side. (If you need additional oil, you can add 1 more tablespoon).
- 5
Meanwhile, combine the light soy sauce, mirin, water, dark soy sauce, oyster sauce, fish sauce, and sugar in a small bowl.
- 6
Pour the sauce mixture into the eggplant, and simmer until reduced by half. Run each piece of eggplant through the sticky sauce before placing onto a bed of steamed rice. Top with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve.