Soy-Glazed Eggplant Donburi

Step 1

Gather all the ingredients.

Step 2

Slice eggplant into ¼ inch slices and sprinkle salt (roughly ½-1 tsp). Set aside for 15 minutes and wipe off the moisture with a paper towel.

Step 3

Rinse the shiso leaves and dry with a paper towel. Discard the stems.

Step 4

Roll up the shiso leaves and cut into chiffonade strips.

Step 5

Peel the ginger skin and grate the ginger. You’ll need 1 tsp ginger.

Step 6

Put 2 Tbsp potato starch in a small tray and thinly coat the eggplant slices on both sides.

Step 7

Heat the 2 Tbsp oil in a frying pan over medium heat. When the oil is hot, add the eggplant slices in a single layer. Cook until the bottom side is golden brown, about 3-4 minutes. Until then, do not touch the eggplants to achieve a nice sear.

Step 8

When the bottom side is nicely seared, drizzle the rest of oil (2 Tbsp) on top and flip the eggplant slices to cook the other side, about 3-4 minutes.

Step 9

Once this side is cooked till golden brown, reduce the heat to medium-low heat and add mirin, soy sauce, and grated ginger.

Step 10

Bring it back to simmer and spoon the sauce over the eggplant a few times. If the sauce got thicken too fast (due to the potato starch), add 1 Tbsp water at a time to loosen a bit. Remove from the heat when the eggplant is well-coated with the sauce.

Step 11

Serve steamed rice in a donburi bowl (a bit bigger than rice bowl) and drizzle some sauce.

Step 12

Then place the eggplant slices on top. For presentation, I overlap each slice slightly. Garnish with shiso leaves and sprinkle sesame seeds. Serve immediately.