Sticky Braised Eggplant

perhaps my favorite take on the humble eggplant

During university, I was blessed with the presence of my younger brother in the same city as me. He would come over multiple times a week to eat my food, a trade-off that worked well for me as I needed someone to eat the prodigious amounts of food I was churning out for my Instagram and TikTok pages. I, unlike my brother, did not inherit my mother’s lightning-fast metabolism but rather went on my father’s side. I feel superior knowing that my father's, older brother's, and I’s bodies are biologically primed to survive a famine if needed. Not sure how my younger brother and mother will fare…

Regardless, he would dutifully eat whatever I put in front of him, regardless of the ingredient… almost. His hangups were tofu and eggplant, so I, of course, became single-minded in my quest to convince him otherwise. These sticky braised eggplants were one of the things I made for him, and I am happy to report they successfully won him over. A great veggie side dish, the sticky and salty eggplant pairs so so well with steamed rice or spicy noodles. The eggplants are steamed in some mirin and water, then braised in a salty sauce made up of soy sauce and chili flakes. Unbelievably good, deceptively easy- this has to make its’ way on your weeknight rotations.

Ingredients:

1 medium Chinese eggplant, cut in half
1 tbsp mirin
sauce:
2 tbsp tamari/soy sauce

1 tbsp oyster sauce

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tsp mirin

1 tbsp maple syrup/honey

1 tsp red pepper flakes

2 cloves of garlic minced

1 inch ginger minced

1/2 cup water

Method:

Slice your Chinese eggplant lengthwise. In a steamer basket, place your eggplants in. In the water used to steam, add a tbsp of mirin to infuse the water and add a nice sweetness to the eggplant. Steam for about 5-7 min, until a knife slides through with no resistance.

Cut each half of the eggplant into two, leaving you with about 4 equal pieces. Cut a slight slit in the top so you can lay the eggplant flat, and then without cutting through the skin, cut slits lengthwise across the eggplant flesh. It should look a bit like an accordion.

Mix all the ingredients for the sauce together. In a pan over medium heat, add 1 tbsp of water and place your eggplant down. Get it golden brown on each side, then add in half the sauce. It should be bubbling and becoming sticky. When it has reduced down and become sticky, flip the eggplant and pour the other 1/2 of the sauce. Let reduce down and become sticky again. Serve with steamed rice or some noodles.