Work has been busier than usual which means finding ways to have quick meals on weeknights. Our home becomes messier and messier on the weekdays and on Sunday I go through a day of cleaning and cooking. So, I’ve been on a streak of making Korean side dishes (banchan) on Sunday’s to make dinners on the weekday easier. I’m also trying to incorporate a bit more vegetables into our daily meals and this eggplant dish is a perfect addition to the dinner table!
Slightly sweet, more salty and a just a bit of a spicy hint with soft and chewy strips of eggplant and mushrooms is a super delicious combination! What makes it even better is that it takes no more than 10 minutes to put this side dish together. You just grill the eggplants to evaporate the excess water from the eggplants, stirfry the mushrooms and mix it all in with the delicious sauce. It has a fairly strong flavor so it pairs very well with a mild soup or just a bowl of white rice and egg.
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- 430 g eggplant 5 small Japanese eggplants or 2 large Italian eggplants
- 150 g (5 oz) oyster mushroom
- 5-10 spicy peppers (serrano, jalapeno) depending on spice level
- toasted sesame seeds
- 3 Tbsp soy sauce
- 1 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp Korean red pepper flakes
- 1 Tbsp maesil cheong (plum extract) can be substituted for ½ Tbsp honey
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
Ingredients
Sauce
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- Slice the oyster mushrooms. And the spicy peppers. Slice the eggplants to be about .7 cm (.25 inch) thick.
- Heat a nonstick pan (without oil), and grill the eggplants until browned on both sides. Cut the eggplants into strips.
- Once the eggplants are done, lightly grill the mushrooms until just lightly browned.
- In a medium sized bowl, stir and combine the sauce. Add the eggplant, mushroom and peppers. Mix well until the sauce is well incorporated. Top with toasted sesame seeds.
- Enjoy immediately or after a day. The flavors evolve so I like to eat it immediately and the day after once the vegetables have soaked in all the sauce.
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