Marinated Fried Eggplant ‘Nambanzuke’

Name: Marinated Fried Eggplant ‘Nambanzuke’
Yield: 4 to 6 servings
Cuisine: British
Ingredients: 500-600 g Eggplants; Oil for frying; 1/2-1 Onion *thinly sliced; 1 small Carrot *sliced into fine strips; 1 clove Garlic *finely chopped; 1 Chilli *thinly sliced, can be replaced with dried Chilli Flakes; 1/4 cup Rice Vinegar; 1/4 cup Soy Sauce; 1/4 cup Water; 2 tablespoons Sugar; 2 tablespoons Mirin *can be replaced with 1 tablespoon Sugar

Hiroko Liston @hirokoliston

Melbourne, Australia

I have shared my recipe for ‘Nanban-zuke’, which is a dish of marinated Fish. It is one of my Top 10 summer dishes. This dish is almost identical to the ‘Nanban-zuke’, but I used Eggplants instead of Fish. Eggplants are deep-fried and they become oily. And that’s why they taste so good after marinated in this sweet and sour sauce.

Hiroko Liston @hirokoliston

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Ingredients

4 to 6 servings

500-600 gEggplants
Oil for frying
1/2-1Onion *thinly sliced
1small Carrot *sliced into fine strips
1 cloveGarlic *finely chopped
1Chilli *thinly sliced, can be replaced with dried Chilli Flakes
Marinade
1/4 cupRice Vinegar
1/4 cupSoy Sauce
1/4 cupWater
2 tablespoonsSugar
2 tablespoonsMirin *can be replaced with 1 tablespoon Sugar

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Steps

1

Place all the marinade ingredients in a baking dish or similar, and mix well. *Note: As Mirin is alcoholic, you can replace it with Sugar. In that case, you use 3 tablespoons Sugar in total.
2

Add Onion, Carrot, Garlic and Chilli, and combine.
3

Cut off the green bit of Eggplants and cut in half or quarters lengthways, then make many shallow cuts on the skin. Then cut into chunky 5 to 6cm pieces.
4

Deep-frying is the preferred method, but you can cook them in a frying pan with a generous amount Oil. Cook the skin side first. When soft, add to the marinade & vegetable mixture in the bowl, skin side down.
5

Repeat with the remaining Eggplant pieces.
6

Turn the Eggplant pieces over, skin side up, combine evenly, and set aside in the fridge for 1 hour.
7

*Note: You can do the marinating process using a serving bowl, so that you can serve the dish straight away. Otherwise, arrange the mixture on a serving plate or bowl.