What Is Japanese Eggplant?
Fortunately, Japanese eggplant is, in my opinion, a lot easier to work with than globe eggplant. These Asian eggplants are long and narrow, are much more delicate on the inside and have more tender skin. They’re lovely. This recipe for Japanese eggplant stir-fried with ginger in a miso sake sauce comes from my friend Nancy Hachisu’s stunning cookbook, Japanese Farm Food , and according to Nancy, is her husband Tadaki’s “soul food”. This year I’m growing Japanese eggplant in my garden, and have been using this recipe every time a few more eggplants get long and ripe enough to pick. So good! And so easy to make. The few ingredients are easy enough to come by, especially if you have access to an Asian market or Whole Foods. Here in Northern California you can find Japanese eggplant, miso, and sake at Safeways and Raley’s. Nancy uses shiso, a Japanese mint-like herb in this dish, which can sometimes be a challenge to find. I’m growing Thai basil which worked great as a substitute, you can also sub regular fresh mint. Nancy’s recipe calls for shiso, a mint-like herb that you often find served with sushi in Japanese restaurants here in the states. I don’t have shiso around but am growing Thai basil which was a lovely substitute. You could also use a little sliced fresh mint. If you don’t have dried chili peppers, try using a generous pinch of red chili pepper flakes.
