Stir-Fried Eggplants
….You know that eggplant, which is in season in early summer, is like a summer tonic vegetable, right? Eggplant is great for anti-aging, has a high water content, and is low in calories, making it an effective food for dieting. Although eggplant is harvested until the fall, summer eggplant is said to be the best. Eating eggplant helps cool the body, making it especially beneficial during the summer. It contains a lot of potassium, which has a diuretic effect and can help release body heat. Therefore, it is a vegetable highly recommended for summer. Additionally, the purple skin of eggplant contains a component called nasunin, which helps prevent an increase in blood cholesterol levels and has strong antioxidant properties. Eggplant is also rich in dietary fiber and boasts low calories, with more than 90% of its content being water. It is an excellent food for dieting during the summer.
However, since my husband doesn’t like the mushy texture, I cut the eggplant properly and dried it in the hot summer sun for a day, which reduced some moisture and improved the texture, as well as increased its nutritional value. I remembered the stir-fried dried eggplant with perilla powder that an elder at church made for us a long time ago. I recalled how my husband loved it, saying it tasted like home, so I tried making something similar. As expected, I enjoyed it atop rice and shared stories about that elder for a long time.
Summer eggplants have firmer flesh, making it easier to maintain their shape even when heated. They also have less moisture than fall eggplants, making them suitable for braising or stir-frying dishes. Before the hot summer ends, try putting eggplant dishes on your table more often.
Servings: 3–4
Time: Allow 30 minutes plus additional time for drying the eggplant slightly in the sun over the course of a day or two
Ingredients:
- 350 g slightly dried eggplant
- 40 g dried shrimp, removed the rough skin and tail
- 150 g onion, sliced
- 1 fresh red pepper, seeded and julienned
- 1 fresh green pepper, seeded and julienned
- 3 garlic cloves, sliced +1 tbsp garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp green onion, minced
- 2 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 tbsp perilla oil
- 3 tbsp mixed fish sauce (gukganjang : fish sauce : tuna sauce = 1 : 1 : 1 )
- 1 tbsp rice syrup
- 3 tbsp mirin
Cooking Instructions:
- Heat a pan over medium heat and add the avocado oil.
2. Add the dried shrimp and mirin to the pan and stir-fry for 1 minute.
3. Add the onion and sliced garlic to the pan and stir-fry for 1 minute.
4. Add the dried eggplants, mixed fish sauce, and rice syrup to the pan, and stir-fry them for 2 minutes.
5. Add the green pepper, red pepper, green onion, and minced garlic to the pan to stir-fry them for 1 minute.
6. Turn off the heat and drizzle the perilla oil into the pan.
7. Serve it alongside steamed rice.
You can also view this recipe on Instagram.
