Monday, June 22, 2009

Teriyaki Eggplant



Dewey and I have a culinarily mixed household. I'm vegan and health-minded and a treehugger. He's an omnivore, and while he's interested in health and the environment, he's not nearly as invested in it as I am.

Our meal planning has to take into account my diabetes, too. That means avoiding meals that combine too many carb-heavy options (like spaghetti and garlic bread). (Note: When they cure diabetes, my first diabetes-free meal will be pasta, garlic bread, tiramisu, and several glasses of wine.)

We combined our households about six months ago, and I think we've finally found a balance that works for us. We take turns choosing what to eat. I push for more vegetables, Dewey pushes for fewer of certain vegetables (raw tomatoes, mushrooms, and avocado are on his banned list). Most of the time, this means we eat the same food. Occasionally, we eat separate, but equal.

The meal above is an example of this. Dewey wanted to make teriyaki beef and soba noodles. So we made teriyaki sauce together (this video recipe), and I used my part of the sauce to make teriyaki eggplant.

I sliced my eggplant, brushed it with oil, and baked it in the oven for about half an hour. Then I finished my eggplant by glazing it in the teriyaki sauce following the directions for glazing the teriyaki beef. When I make this again, I'll peel the eggplant. It looks prettier with the skin on, but the texture of the skin was a bit tough and added a bitterness to the eggplant.

2 comments:

dsharp88 said...

Funny you should mention this because I had teriyaki eggplant at a restaurant about a week ago, but hadn't looked up how to make it yet. They not only peeled it, but also sliced it into strips. I wonder if it's necessary to bake before adding the teriyaki sauce though. Can it just be baked in the sauce or does that leave some bitterness? The restaurant (Five Happiness) version didn't have any bitterness to it, which is what made it so good.

mollyjade said...

I think you do need to cook the eggplant before adding the sauce. Otherwise the sauce will burn because of all the sugar in it. You could probably finish it in the oven though.