Japanese Eggplant (Aubergine) Tanaka And Dashi
- JAPANESE EGGPLANT TANAKA
- 1 small Japanese eggplant
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 2 tablespoons Japanese soy sauce
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1/3 cup sake
- 1/4 teaspoon aji-no-moto (monosodium glutamate) (optional)
- DASHI
- 6 cups water
- 1/2 ounce kombu seaweed
- 1/2 ounce shaved bonito flakes (katsuobushi)
- HOW TO MAKE THE EGGPLANT: Wash eggplant, but do not peel.
- Cut into 1/2 inch cubes.
- Heat vegetable oil in a large frying pan.
- Add the cubes of eggplant and saute over high heat until lightly browned here and there.
- This should take about 2 minutes.
- Add the remaining ingredients.
- Stir well, cover pan and simmer over low heat until eggplant is tender and sauce is just a bit thicker.
- Serves 2.
- HOW TO MAKE THE DASHI: Bring the water to a fast rolling boil.
- Add kombu seaweed.
- Stir for 2 to 3 minutes to release its flavour.
- Then remove with a slotted spoon (leaving it in the soup would make it too strong).
- Bring the water back to a fast rolling boil and add the bonito shavings.
- Bring back to the boil, then quickly remove from the heat.
- Let the bonito shavings settle in the bottom of the pan---this usually takes 2 to 3 minutes.
- Strain; now the dashi, or broth, is ready to use.
- Yield: 6 cups.
- *InJapan it is used as much as we use salt, and it is a vegetable protein derivative.
- If you wish to use it, look for the Japanese type in Oriental shops.
- **Kombu:Kelp or dried seaweed tangle, which is one of two most basic and important ingredients for making soup stock (dashi).
- ***Shreddeddried bonito (a fish), the other essential for basic stock (dashi).
- Can be purchased in one piece, then grated, or already grated and packaged, which is much more convenient.
- DASHI: This soup stock is the base for almost all Japanese dishes, so it is important to learn how to make it.
- Chicken stock can replace dashi, but a certain flavour will be missing.
- Madame Benoit's World of Food.
tanaka, vegetable oil, soy sauce, sugar, sake, glutamate, dashi, water
Taken from www.food.com/recipe/japanese-eggplant-aubergine-tanaka-and-dashi-82685 (may not work)