SESAME AUBERGINE

by Danish Wadhwa April 15, 2020

Sesame Aubergine

This recipe is a GAME CHANGE for all of you guys out there who like Japanese style miso aubergine but don’t necessarily have the miso paste to hand. Well, if I may, this is WAY better than miso aubergine. The aubergine turns out SUPER soft on the inside and deliciously crispy on the outside. The secret tip of getting it this way is courtesy of my Mama (as are pretty much all of my culinary skills in general) and I’m going to share it with all you guys because the world needs to know about how easy it is to make this restaurant style dish in your very own kitchen.

Ingredients:

1 x medium sized aubergine

6 x tablespoons of sesame oil

1.5 x tablespoons of light soy sauce

2 x cloves of garlic

1 x tablespoon of honey

1 x half a lemon

1 x tablespoon of paprika powder (I use the Schwartz Paprika & Onion powder which I highly recommend because of all the extra flavour)

1 x heaped teaspoon of Chinese style chilli oil (or crushed chilli flakes if you don’t have this)

Method:

Pre-heat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
Wash the aubergine and cut it into thick chunks (around 1.5 inch cube like chunks)
Put this into a microwaveable dish and microwave for 3 minutes (essential step!). If you don’t have a microwave, pan fry in a little sesame oil until totally soft (around 7 mins on a medium flame if you keep turning)
Mix the rest of the ingredients into a bowl and stir well
Take the aubergine out of the microwave, drain out the excess liquid and pat dry with a kitchen towel (if made soft in the pan, skip this step) - the reason we do this is to make the inner texture aubergine super soft
Stir the aubergine in the sesame sauce, ensuring that each piece is generously coated and baste for as long as you can.
Evenly lay out the aubergine pieces on an oven proof dish and be sure to put the pieces of garlic on top of the aubergine (so it gets crispy whilst roasting) and leave for 30 mins.
CAREFULLY remove the aubergine, plate it up and sprinkle on sesame seeds at the end if you want it to look pretty (personally I just prefer to eat it).

Everyone you make this for will ask you for the recipe. You can tell them it’s yours and take the credit, we really don’t mind.