Spicy Summer Eggplant Salad

This healthy, delicious Spicy Summer Eggplant Salad recipe infuses a typical salad entrée with Japanese “umami” or savor. Mirin, a cooking sake, can usually be found in the international foods aisle of the grocery store or at specialty Asian markets. If possible, opt for genuine “hon” mirin, which has a higher alcohol content of around 12%. The imitation kind, usually called “mirin-type”, is primarily sugar.

The raw garlic in this spicy summer eggplant salad dish adds an extra dimension but can be omitted for those with sensitivity or when serving a romantic dinner. Leftover sauce can be refrigerated and reused for up to 2 days as a quick lunch salad dressing.

Spicy Summer Eggplant Salad

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Phoebe Green

This healthy, delicious spicy summer eggplant salad recipe infuses a typical salad entrée with Japanese "umami" or savor.

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 20 minutes mins

Course Salad

Cuisine Japanese

Servings 4 people

Calories 252 kcal

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• 1 head lettuce Boston – rinsed, dried and chopped
• 4 small eggplants Chinese
• ⅓ cup soy sauce low-sodium
• ⅓ cup mirin Japanese
• ¼ cup rice vinegar unseasoned and unsweetened
• 2 ½ tablespoons white sugar
• 3 tablespoons scallions minced
• 2 medium chillies seeds removed, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon ginger minced
• 1 teaspoon garlic minced
• 2 tablespoons olive oil for frying
• 2 tablespoons scallions shredded for garnish

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Instructions

 

• Trim the eggplant and use a peeler to remove strips of the eggplants’ skin to strip the eggplant lengthwise. Cut eggplant in 3/4-inch disks and then quarters. Soak eggplant pieces in cold water for 5 minutes to remove any bitterness. Drain and pat eggplant dry with paper towels (steps two and three can be prepared while the eggplant is soaking).
• Combine the soy sauce, mirin, sugar, and rice vinegar in a large glass, ceramic, or metal serving bowl and set aside.
• Rinse, drain, and chop the lettuce into bite-sized pieces. Place a serving of lettuce onto each dinner plate or bowl. Set aside.
• In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil. When hot, add the eggplant pieces and stir fry for about 5 minutes (until eggplant pieces are tender in the middle).
• Place the cooked eggplant directly into the bowl of sauce; add ginger, chillies, scallions and optional garlic and combine.
• Serve eggplant on chopped lettuce with warm sauce and shredded scallions on top for garnish.

Nutrition

Calories: 252kcalCarbohydrates: 44gProtein: 7gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 5gSodium: 1486mgPotassium: 1189mgFiber: 14gSugar: 23gVitamin A: 413IUVitamin C: 44mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 2mg

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