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

Phoebe Green

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

5 from 1 vote

Print Recipe Pin Recipe Share by Email Share on Facebook

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

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

Feedback is key!Let us know how this recipe worked out for you.