Steamed eggplants are especially nice to serve cold with simple sauce so that your palate can focus on the delicate texture and flavor of the vegetable itself.
![Photobucket](http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc218/naokomoore/October%202012/IMG_5947.jpg)
With my donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe", because of its intense steam, a pile of cut eggplants can be steamed really nicely. This salad dish is a true delight. It's steamed Japanese eggplant with roasted walnut & miso sauce. This shojin (Buddhist temple-style vegan) dish is so satisfying, yet no oil is used in it. Both the eggplants and the sauce can be prepared 1 day ahead and assemble right before service.
Steamed Eggplant with Walnut-Miso Sauce
Ingredients:
5 medium-size Japanese eggplants
(Walnut-Miso Sauce)
1 oz walnuts, roasted for 8 minutes in the 400F oven
1/2 tsp raw brown sugar
1T dark miso
1/2 tsp shio-koji or a 1/4 tsp soy sauce
3T or more dashi stock (shiitake & kombu dashi)
some thinly-sliced shiso leaves for garnish
Procedure:
1. Cut off the head of each eggplant. Cut each into quarters. For a very long eggplant, cut each piece further into half crosswise. Soak them in cold water for 5-10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
2. Get donabe steamer, "Mushi Nabe"ready. Set the eggplants on the steam grate. Cover and steam over high-heat for about 10 minutes or the eggplants are soft. *For easy removal I use a shallow bamboo basket to steam eggplants. I can just pile up the eggplants in the basket and set it on the steam grate. When the steaming is done, I just remove the whole basket.
3. Transfer the eggplants into a plate and let them cool down. Once the eggplants are cooled, chill them in the refrigerator.
4. To make the sauce, add all the ingredients for the sauce in a food processor and make into a puree. Add more dashi stock according to your preferred consistency.
5. To serve, arrange the eggplants in a plate and pour the sauce. Garnish with sliced shiso leaves.
This dish is great as an cold appetizer!
The sauce is very versatile. These are a couple of variations...one if with Haricot Verts, and the other with blanched Komatsuna (Japanese spinach). I just tossed the ingredients with the sauce!
![Photobucket](http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc218/naokomoore/October%202012/IMG_5976.jpg)
![Photobucket](http://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc218/naokomoore/October%202012/IMG_5978.jpg)
The sauce is very versatile. These are a couple of variations...one if with Haricot Verts, and the other with blanched Komatsuna (Japanese spinach). I just tossed the ingredients with the sauce!
Happy donabe life.