Sides and Salads Recipes - Aubergines with Sesame Sauce Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 large aubergines (eggplants)

• 400ml/1 3/4 cups second dashi stock made using water and, instant dashi powder

• 25mll/1 1/2 tbsp sugar

• 5ml/1 tbsp shoyu

• 5ml/1 tbsp sesame seeds, ground

• 5ml/1 tbsp sake

• 15ml/1 tbsp corn flour (cornstarch)

• salt

For the vegetables:

• 130g/2oz shimeji mushrooms

• 115g/3/4 cup fine green beans

• 100ml/scant 1/2 cup second dashi stock

• 25ml/1 1/2 tbsp sugar

• 15ml/1 tbsp sake

• 1.5ml/1/4 tsp salt

• dash of shoyu

Serves 4

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Method:

1. Peel the aubergines and cut them in quarters lengthways. Prick all over then soak in salted water for 30 minutes. Drain and steam in a covered bamboo basket for 20 minutes.

2. Mix the stock, sugar, shoyu and 1.5ml/1/4 tsp salt in a large Jan. Add the aubergines, cover and simmer for a further 15 minutes.

3. Mix a few tablespoonfuls of stock from the pan with the ground sesame seeds. Add this mixture to the pan and stir well to combine.  

4. Mix the sake and the corn flour, add to the pan with the aubergines and stock and shiver the pan over the heat until the sauce becomes quite thick. Remove the pan from the heat.

5. Prepare the vegetables. Cut off the hard base part of the mushrooms and separate the large block into smaller chunks. Trim the beans and cut them in half.

6. Mix the remaining ingredients with the beans and mushrooms in a pan and cook for 7 minutes until just tender.

7. Serve the aubergines and their sauce in individual bowls with the vegetables on the top.

Steaming is a wonderful way of cooking aubergines as it is the perfect foil to their tendency to soak up oil.