I like eggplant. Mostly the Japanese kind but on occasion the larger kind typical of something like eggplant parmigiana.

I watched a Japanese tv show on how best to cook eggplant. Turns out, it's best to cook eggplant whole and somewhat slowly rather than diced and fast. There's a reaction that happens while the eggplant is increasing in temperature that stops when it hits a temp of 90C.

I cook this way often for certain dishes. But have been dicing for other dishes. Now, I'll cook whole first and then dice or whatever depending on the dish.

That being said - Japan has turned completely idiotic with the term umami. Nothing has a flavor. There is no more tomato flavor or fish flavor or mushroom flavor. Everything just has some level of umami flavor. This show had some good techniques w/ a science basis (ie - reminiscent of Good Eats).

But they must have said "umami" about 1000 times in 30 minutes. I was getting ready to shoot the screen.

My wife always boils eggplant first. Boiling keeps the outer skin from drying out & becoming tough. We also like to buy the small "CA" eggplant but it is only found in local Kurdish markets. The normal grocery store eggplant has a thick outer skin. She substitutes chunks of eggplant instead of tomatoes in stew. Sometimes she will cut it in half & heap ground pork & beef on top with a final layer of white cheddar cheese. She will chop cooked eggplant with chopped tomatoes, onion, Italian parsley & garlic for a cold salad. Last week she made Moussaka with eggplant.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Anush,

I slice horizontal into 1/4" discs, egg wash, then flour mine and fry them like fried green tomatoes.

Just salt and eat.

Right there with ya on the overuse of umami...

Just stay away from the dang news shows, as the top story, every show, every single day is "shingata corona wirus" (spelt phonetically).

Regardless, thanks for the tip on cooking eggplant. We get them at the Japanese market, when we can, and it would be nice to try that approach.

Really enjoy a good eggplant parmesan.

We do a few Japanese and Chinese eggplant dishes (i. e. mabo nasu), always with the skinny Japanese/Korean eggplant. I'll have to try cooking them whole next time before cutting them up. I do brush them with oil and cook them whole on the grill sometimes. After they're grilled, we split them lengthwise and usually just eat them with fresh ginger and soy sauce.

Cut lengthwise and with ginger and shoyu is how my wife likes it, too!!!

I saw a couple killer recipes on the Test Kitchen for a stuffed Eggplant Boat and another when thin strips were used to layer in and make Lasagna.
Wife made the Lasagna and I just saw the first on this week.
Worth a try if you like Eggplant.

I've not tried these but the video had some good ideas for eggplant...

How about babaganoush? Poke a bunch of holes in 2 large eggplants, and put on a grill with low heat, along with a head of garlic. When the eggplant is soft, let it cool and the excess liquid drain. mash the garlic, and scrape the pulp, and mix with sesame tahini and lemon juice. Season with salt to taste. Use it like hummus.

Slice it 3/4" thick salt it and let rest for 2 hours. Wash off egg then flour and fry in olive oil until tender. Sit on paper towel to remove excess oil. Light coating of marinara sauce then low moisture mozzarella and bake to melt the cheese and then eat!
That is how my grandmother and mother made it, simply the best!

For those so inclined, you can check out the cooking tips on the show Gatten available on the NHK app (Apple TV, Fire TV, smartphones, etc). It's only available for a short period.

It has some good tips but the primary concept is cook it to allow some reaction to completely take place (throughout the eggplant). This reaction stops when the temp reaches 90C so it's good to cook while avoiding the temp of the eggplant (internals) to hit 90C.

I've been doing this recipe but with inconsistent results; now I know why. Grilled eggplants with butter and soy sauce. They show the best way to do this.

Seems like eggplant with dairy (ie - cream or cheese) and meat (ie - ground beef) is a trifecta of 3 different types of umami.... They have a couple of simple recipes for this (stuffed eggplant).

quote:

Originally posted by bobandmikako:
I do brush them with oil and cook them whole on the grill sometimes. After they're grilled, we split them lengthwise and usually just eat them with fresh ginger and soy sauce.

Try splitting them and then add soy sauce and butter. Kyushu style

I often apply a miso glaze to the grilled eggplants (nasu dengaku).

Ratatouille in the summer, moussaka in the winter; sometimes an indian curry.

quote:

Originally posted by ersatzknarf:
Just stay away from the dang news shows, as the top story, every show, every single day is "shingata corona wirus" (spelt phonetically).

Yes. I'm very disappointed in Japan on the handling of the virus. I would have expected the response to be more rational and tempered. Oh well.

I don't watch the news there (well except for cases like the recent flooding).

I do like shows like The Professional (although it's pretty bad now - it used to be good and reminiscent of the old Project X show which I absolutely loved). Gatten is occasionally interesting. Trails to Tsukiji used to be good (well, the content mostly; the hosts were generally idiots). And then I like shows that reveal tips to good onsens. Document 72 Hours can be mindless entertainment sometimes.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
Try splitting them and then add soy sauce and butter. Kyushu style
I often apply a miso glaze to the grilled eggplants (nasu dengaku).

Thanks! I'll definitely try both ways if I can come up with some decent eggplant this week.

BTW, when you said ginger, are you lucky enough to have a steady supply of myoga? Or are you talking shyoga ginger?

While shyoga works here, I love / prefer myoga. I just can't get any on a regular basis. Lucky if you can.

quote:

Originally posted by konata88:
BTW, when you said ginger, are you lucky enough to have a steady supply of myoga? Or are you talking shyoga ginger?

While shyoga works here, I love / prefer myoga. I just can't get any on a regular basis. Lucky if you can.

Unfortunately, there's no myoga available around here...just regular shoga ginger.