I love the way the Japanese cook aubergines and I wanted to create a recipe which reminds me of eating it in their restaurants. This recipe is a delicious way to cook them and has lovely textures and is a bit crunchy with the ginger matchsticks. They are packed with flavour so they would be great with baked fish, salads and rice. Perfect as a little starter or a side dish.

Recipe:

Serves 4.

Ingredients:
2 large aubergines cut into 1″ thick rounds and scored lightly on top
1/2 a red chilli cut into tiny pieces
A thumb sized piece of ginger cut into fine matchsticks
2 teaspoons of maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon of ground ginger powder
1 minced garlic clove
1 teaspoon of toasted sesame oil
2 tablespoons of olive oil
4 tablespoons of soya sauce (if required, gluten free soy sauce available)
1 scallion (salad onion) sliced into very thin strips
1 teaspoon of black sesame seeds (white are fine)
Coconut oil (enough for frying the ginger sticks)

How:

Firstly heat the oven to 200°c.
Make the marinade by mixing the oils, the ginger powder, garlic, maple syrup and soya sauce together. Place aubergines on a large baking tray and pour the mixture over the top of them. Roast covered tightly in foil for 40 minutes then remove the foil and roast for another 10 minutes.

While the aubergines are cooking fry the ginger matchsticks in the coconut oil till golden, drain and set aside.

Place the roasted aubergines on plates or a big plate and sprinkle with the sesame seeds. Then garnish with the scallions, the ginger matchsticks and a the slices of red chilli. Perfect with my Japanese radish salad, and/or a bowl of sushi rice or some sushi and sashimi.

I shop at:
Waitrose
Sainsbury’s
Tesco
Lidl