Eggplant Agebitashi (Video) 茄子の揚げ浸し

Deep-fried until crispy then soaked in a savory broth, tender Eggplant Agebitashi could be your new favorite way to enjoy Japanese eggplant. I lightly score the eggplant so it cooks faster and absorbs the delicious dashi and soy sauce flavors. {Vegan Adaptable}

While growing up in Japan, my mother made a lot of eggplant dishes and it always made me wondered what was so good about eggplant. Personally, I prefer crunchy and crispy foods, and mushy, soft eggplant was not one of my favorite vegetables.

After I came to the U.S. and tried more varieties of eggplant dishes, I started to love eggplant. One of the eggplant recipes I was crazy about was a grilled eggplant sandwich with roasted bell pepper.

Then I started to make Japanese eggplant dishes which I didn’t care much for before. Today’s recipe, Eggplant Agebitashi (茄子の揚げ浸し) has become one of my favorite go-to eggplant menus.

What is Eggplant Agebitashi?

Agebitashi means deep-fried and soaked. The dish is composed of deep-fried eggplant soaked in light dashi and soy sauce-based broth.

It’s a simple dish, yet you’ll be surprised how delicious eggplant can be after it absorbed all the flavors in the dashi broth. If you’re a fan of eggplant, I know you’re going to love this dish!

Helpful Cooking Techniques

This dish requires some Japanese cooking techniques that you might not be familiar with. So let’s go over them first.

Tip 1: Suage (素揚げ)

Deep frying vegetables without coating any flour or batter is called Suage in Japanese. Su means natural or uncoated in this case, and age (pronounce a-geh) means deep-frying. You might wonder what’s the idea behind deep frying eggplants.

Suage removes the bitterness of ingredients (such as in eggplant) and coating with oil prevents de-coloration of the eggplant. By cooking with oil, eggplant maintains its beautiful color. The eggplant will absorb oil first but then will release it after cooking.

Brief deep frying in hot oil makes the ingredients crispy on the outside, and the remaining heat will slowly cook the inside of the ingredients. Once cooked, the tender eggplant easily absorbs the broth.

You could also shallow fry eggplants. However, you have to make sure that the eggplant skin is nicely coated with oil at all times. I suggest combining the eggplant and oil in a large bowl first and rubbing the eggplant completely with oil with your hands first before you shallow fry. If you don’t, the water and moisture escaping from the eggplant will discolor and result in patchy skin.

Tip 2: Kakushibocho (隠し包丁)

Light scoring of the ingredients is called Kakushi-bocho in Japanese. Kakushi or kakusu means hidden and hide, and Bocho or hocho means a knife. This technique is used so that:

1. The heat will go through the ingredient more easily
2. Flavors (of the broth or seasonings) will be absorbed better
3. The ingredient will be easier to cut with chopsticks

Technically, we score the ingredient without making it too visible (so when you serve, it’s not obvious). That’s where the name “kakushi” or “hidden” comes from.

We use this technique for ingredients that are hard to cook through and absorb flavors such as daikon, eggplant, and konnyaku.

How much should we score? It really depends on the thickness of the ingredient, but remember not to score too deeply otherwise, it might break the ingredient apart.

The same technique could also be called Kazari-bocho when the scoring looks pretty on the ingredient such as this eggplant. The purpose of scoring is the same, but it also looks decorative (“kazari”) so that’s how the name comes about.

Can’t make good incisions? Sharpen your knife and practice will make it perfect. 🙂

Make It Vegetarian/Vegan-Friendly

You might wonder if this can be a vegetarian/vegan dish. Sure you can! Replace Awase Dashi (bonito flakes + kombu dashi) with Vegan Dashi made with kombu and dried shiitake mushrooms!

And for garnish, omit sprinkling katsuobushi at the end. As easy as that!

Make Eggplant Agebitashi Gluten-Free

Many of you requested gluten-free recipes (thank you!), so I actually made this dish with gluten-free soy sauce. Of course, you can use regular soy sauce and you don’t need to adjust anything in the recipe.

Kikkoman offers 3 varieties of gluten-free soy sauce, but for this recipe, I used regular gluten-free soy sauce (left) which tastes just like regular soy sauce. If you want to know more about this product, click here.

I hope you enjoy making this Eggplant Agebitashi recipe! If you try it, don’t forget to share your picture on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter with #JustOneCookbook. Thank you so much for reading, and till next time!

Similar Recipes

• Japanese Grilled Eggplant (Yaki Nasu)
• Miso Glazed Eggplant

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Eggplant Agebitashi

4.89 from 51 votes

Deep-fried until crispy then soaked in a savory broth, tender Eggplant Agebitashi could be your new favorite way to enjoy Japanese eggplant. I lightly score the eggplant so it cooks faster and absorbs the delicious dashi and soy sauce flavors. {Vegan Adaptable}

Print Pin

Video

Prep Time: 15 minutes mins

Cook Time: 15 minutes mins

Total Time: 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 Japanese or Chinese eggplants (10 oz, 283 g)
• ▢ 2 cups neutral oil (for deep-frying)
• ▢ 3 inches daikon radish (use the green top part for a sweet taste)
• ▢ 1 green onion/scallion
• ▢ 1 knob ginger (1 inch, 2.5 cm per knob)
• ▢ ⅓ cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) (skip for vegan/vegetarian)

For the Broth

• ▢ ¾ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock) (use standard Awase Dashi, dashi packet or powder, or Vegan Dashi)
• ▢ 3 Tbsp mirin
• ▢ 3 Tbsp sake
• ▢ 3 Tbsp soy sauce (for this recipe, I used Kikkoman Gluten-Free Soy Sauce)
• ▢ 1 heaping Tbsp sugar

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• Gather all the ingredients.
  
• In a saucepan, combine the broth ingredients: ¾ cup dashi (Japanese soup stock), 3 Tbsp mirin, 3 Tbsp sake, 3 Tbsp soy sauce, and 1 heaping Tbsp sugar. Mix it all together. Bring it to a boil and turn off the heat. Keep it covered so the broth doesn’t evaporate.
  
• In a deep-frying pot/saucepan, add 2 cups neutral oil and bring it to 320ºF (160ºC). While waiting for the oil, prepare the eggplants.
  

To Prepare the Eggplants

• You must cut the eggplant right before deep-frying to avoid discoloration. First, discard the tops of 2 Japanese or Chinese eggplants and cut in half lengthwise. Tip: While we usually soak eggplant in water to prevent discoloration, we will not soak in water for this recipe because we will deep-fry it without a coating.
  
• Lightly score the eggplant with diagonal incisions on the skin side at ⅛-inch (3-mm) intervals. You could also score in a crisscross pattern. Do not cut through.
  
• After scoring, cut each piece into 3–4 sections. Make sure to wipe off any moisture with a paper towel.
  

To Deep-Fry

• Check if the oil has reached at 320ºF (160ºC) with an instant-read thermometer or by sticking wooden chopsticks into the oil. If you see small bubbles forming around the tips, the oil is ready.
  
• Gently place a few pieces of eggplant in the oil, skin side down, and deep-fry for 2 to 2½ minutes. Fry in batches and do not overcrowd the pot. Remove from the oil and drain on a wire rack, skin side up. Repeat until all the eggplant pieces are deep-fried. Tip: When you deep-fry, do not crowd the pot because the oil temperature will drop quickly. Your ingredients should take up no more than about half of the oil surface area at any one time. If the oil temperature gets too low, take out the eggplant and wait until the oil reaches the right temperature. For more helpful hints, read my post How to Deep-Fry Food.
  

To Soak in the Broth

• When the eggplants have cooled, place them skin side up in a rimmed container or dish. Heat the broth until hot, then pour it over the eggplants to soak for at least 1 hour and up to several hours. To serve this dish chilled, put it in the refrigerator.
  
• While soaking, peel the skin of 3 inches daikon radish and grate it.
  
• Thinly slice 1 green onion/scallion and grate 1 knob ginger.
  

To Serve

• Put the eggplant pieces in individual serving bowls. Sprinkle with ⅓ cup katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes), then top with the grated daikon and grated ginger. Pour the soaking broth on top of the eggplant pieces (avoiding the toppings) and garnish with green onion. Serve chilled or at room temperature.
  

To Store

• You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for up to 2–3 days.

Notes

 

 

Nutrition

Calories: 163 kcal · Carbohydrates: 8 g · Protein: 1 g · Fat: 14 g · Saturated Fat: 2 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 8 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 3 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Sodium: 190 mg · Potassium: 264 mg · Fiber: 3 g · Sugar: 5 g · Vitamin A: 46 IU · Vitamin C: 10 mg · Calcium: 19 mg · Iron: 1 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: eggplant

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