Quick and easy Eggplant with Sesame Ponzu Sauce is sliced and pan-fried until tender golden brown. The combination of Japanese eggplant, shiso leaves, and the bright citrus-based soy sauce is simply amazing!
¼tspkobucha (kombucha)(this is NOT the fermented drink kombucha; Japanese kobucha/konbucha is a kelp tea powder made from kombu seaweed; you can substitute it with salt, but it will lack kobucha‘s umami)
Instructions
Gather all the ingredients. Finely chop 2 green onions/scallions and cut 5 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) into a chiffonade.
In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce: 2 Tbsp ponzu, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, and ¼ tsp kobucha (kombucha) powder. Set aside.
In a nonstick frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil on medium-high heat. While the oil is heating up, cut 1 Japanese or Chinese eggplant into slices ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Before the eggplant starts to change color, immediately start cooking. Pan-fry both sides of the eggplant until golden brown.
Transfer to a serving plate or individual plates. If you‘d like to serve it cold, keep the sauce and finished eggplants separately in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
Sprinkle the chopped green onions and shredded shiso leaves on top. Drizzle the sesame ponzu sauce over the eggplant. Serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled.
To Store
You can keep the dish in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 2 weeks. Store the sauce and eggplant in separate containers.