Infinite Eggplant (Mugen Nasu) – RecipeTin Japan

I name it Infinite Eggplant as a result of it’s so good which you could eat it ceaselessly, i.e., infinitely. It’s merely sautéed eggplants marinated in vinegar-soy sauce with sesame oil and a little bit of chilli. Intensely flavoured eggplant that melts in your mouth. Use vegetarian dashi inventory to make it vegan.

The title of Infinite Eggplant is a translation of the Japanese title of this recipe, ‘mugen nasu’ (無限茄子). The phrase ‘mugen’ (無限) means infinity or limitless, ‘nasu’ (茄子) is eggplant.

About Mugen Dish

When a easy dish is so tasty which you could’t cease consuming it, individuals typically name the dish mugen one thing, the place one thing is the primary ingredient of the dish. There may be ‘mugen pīman’ (無限ピーマン, infinite capsicum), ‘mugen cabetsu’ (無限キャベツ, infinite cabbage), and many others. There may be even ‘mugen chikin’ (無限チキン, infinite hen).

The usage of the phrase ‘mugen’ originated from a social community in 2016 when a easy capsicum dish was launched with the title ‘mugen pīman’ (無限ピーマン) as a result of it was so tasty and not possible to cease consuming it. Since then, utilizing the phrase 無限 as a part of the recipe title unfold shortly.

You may’t use ‘mugen’ (無限) for any dish, although. It needs to be a easy dish with nice flavour. The recipe requires a small variety of generally used seasonings and cooking needs to be quite simple. Some recipes don’t even require a cooktop. What mugen dishes have in frequent in flavour is saltiness, oiliness, and umami (or sweetness).

My eggplant marinade contains soy sauce, sesame oil, dashi inventory, and mirin. Cooking eggplants is easy, and the dish has an important flavour.  So, I believe as we speak’s dish warrants using the phrase ‘mugen’ (無限).

What’s in My Infinite Eggplant (Mugen Nasu)

• Skinny eggplants, stem trimmed off
• Oil to sauté eggplant (forgot to incorporate oil within the picture above, sorry)
• Finely chopped inexperienced onions

For as we speak’s recipe I strongly advocate utilizing skinny eggplant as an alternative of enormous fats eggplant, so that every piece of eggplant has a pores and skin on one aspect and white flesh on the opposite aspect. It should make cooking the eggplants simpler.

My skinny eggplants have been 18-20cm/7-8″ lengthy and about 4cm/1½” huge. You should utilize a fats and huge eggplant in the event you can’t discover skinny ones, however you will want to quarter it vertically to make bite-size items. See how I reduce the fats eggplant beneath. Rating the eggplant after halving it.

Additionally, you will want barely extra oil and extra time to cook dinner them.

Marinade

As per the definition of mugen dishes, the Marinade substances are pantry necessities.

• Vinegar
• Soy sauce
• Mirin
• Dashi inventory
• Sesame oil
• Chilli oil (non-obligatory)

I used Japanese chilli oil referred to as rāyu, however you may also use Chinese language chilli oil. Rāyu incorporates sesame oil and extra fragrant, but it surely doesn’t make a lot distinction on this recipe since sesame oil is included within the marinade.

Japanese chilli oil, rāyu (left) and Chinese language chilli oil (proper).

How one can make Infinite Eggplant (Mugen Nasu)

Though I wrote the marinade making first and the video additionally exhibits it first, you can also make marinade whereas cooking eggplants.

Making Marinade (you are able to do this whereas cooking eggplants)

1. Put 1 heaped tablespoon of inexperienced onions apart for garnish.
2. Put all of the Marinade substances and the remainder of inexperienced onions right into a microwave-safe container.
3. Microwave at 600W for 50-60 seconds.

Getting ready Eggplant and Making Mugen Nasu

1. Halve every eggplant vertically.
2. Rating the pores and skin aspect of the eggplant items, then reduce every lengthy piece into 4 brief items.
3. Warmth oil in a big frying pan over medium low to low warmth and cook dinner the eggplant items, pores and skin aspect down.
4. Flip the eggplant over and cook dinner with a lid on till the eggplant items grow to be tender.
5. Switch the eggplants into an hermetic container and add the marinade.
6. Serve the eggplant with a small quantity of marinade, then scatter the inexperienced onions on prime.

To shorten the cooking time of the eggplant, I scored the skin-side of eggplant items diagonally. This may even enable the marinade flavour penetrate the eggplant higher.

As a result of you’ll cook dinner eggplants straight after chopping them into bite-size items, you don’t have to put them in water to stop the white recent from browning (oxidising).

The white eggplant flesh is extraordinarily absorbent, and oil shall be sucked into it shortly. Cooking the pores and skin aspect first minimises the lack of the oil within the pan earlier than the eggplant items are flipped over.

You may eat the eggplant as quickly as you set the items within the marinade. It is usually nice to go away them within the fridge for a day or two.

Infinite Eggplant (Mugen Nasu) is an ideal aspect dish to go together with rice. However you may also serve it on Somen (Japanese Chilly Noodles) or vermicelli noodles with the marinade poured over them (picture beneath). The marinade turns into a dipping sauce for the noodles.

Leftover marinade can be utilized as a dressing for Hiyayakko and Pork Shabu-shabu Salad.

Yumiko

Watch How To Make It

Infinite Eggplant (Mugen Nasu)

I name it Infinite Eggplant as a result of it’s so good which you could eat it ceaselessly, i.e., infinitely. The vinegary, candy soy flavour of the marinade goes so properly with sautéed eggplant. It’s a good aspect dish to go together with rice. You can even serve it on Sōmen or vermicelli noodles with the marinade poured over them. See the video.

Use vegetarian dashi inventory to make it vegan.

Do not forget to see the part ‘MEAL IDEAS’ beneath the recipe card! It offers you a listing of dishes that I’ve already posted and this recipe that may make up an entire meal. I hope it’s of assist to you.

Recipe Sort:

Aspect

Delicacies:

Japanese

Key phrase:

Marinated Eggplant, easy eggplant recipes

Serves: 4

Writer: Yumiko

Elements (tbsp=15ml, cup=250ml)

• 3
  skinny eggplants
  (about 300g/0.7lb, notice 1)
• 3
  tbsp
  oil

Directions

Marinade (You are able to do this whereas cooking eggplants)

1. Put 1 heaped tablespoon of inexperienced onions apart for serving.

2. Put all of the Marinade substances and the remainder of inexperienced onions in a microwave-safe container and blend.

3. Microwave at 600W for 50-60 seconds.

Put together and Cook dinner Eggplants

1. Trim the stem off every eggplant and halve it vertically.

2. Place halved eggplants on a chopping board dealing with the flesh aspect down. Rating the pores and skin aspect of every piece diagonally at 5mm/3⁄16″ intervals. The incision must be about ⅔ deep.

3. Minimize the scored piece crosswise into 4 bite-size items of comparable size (notice 2).

4. Warmth oil in a big frying pan at medium low warmth.

5. Place the eggplant items, pores and skin aspect down (notice 3), and cook dinner for 2-3 minutes.

6. Flip them over and cook dinner for a few minutes with a lid on, till the eggplant turns into very tender (notice 4).

Marinate and Serve

1. Instantly switch the eggplant right into a container and add the marinade whereas the eggplant items are scorching.

2. Gently press down the eggplant items above the liquid to submerge them within the marinade as a lot as potential.

3. Switch the eggplant with a few tablespoons of marinade to serving bowls (I had 24 items of eggplants, so 6 items in every serving bowl. Scatter inexperienced onions on prime (notice 5).

4. In case you are not serving instantly, put a lid on the container and depart it within the fridge for as much as 2 days. You may serve them heat, at room temperature, or chilly.

Recipe Notes

1. Skinny eggplants are the very best for this dish. Relying on the size of your skinny eggplant, you might want greater than 4 eggplants. My skinny eggplants have been 18-20cm/7-8″ lengthy and about 4cm/1½” huge.

You should utilize a big eggplant in the event you can’t get skinny eggplant, however you will want to make use of extra oil to cook dinner the eggplant items.

2. Relying on the size of your entire eggplant, you might reduce it into 3 or 5 items. The size of my eggplant items was about 4-5cm/2″ lengthy.

In case you are utilizing a big eggplant, after scoring the halved eggplant, halve it once more vertically, then reduce it crosswise into bite-size items. See the picture within the submit.

3. The white eggplant flesh is extraordinarily absorbent, and oil shall be sucked into it shortly. Cooking the pores and skin aspect first minimises the lack of the oil within the pan earlier than the eggplant items are flipped over.

4. While you press a bit of eggplant, the eggplant flattens simply.

5. You can even serve eggplants on skinny noodles comparable to Sōmen (see the picture within the submit) or vermicelli.

6. Leftover marinade can be utilized as a dressing for Hiyayakko and Pork Shabu-shabu Salad.

7. Diet per serving. It assume that 3/4 of the marinade was not consumed, which is probably going the case.

serving: 110g energy: 130kcal fats: 12g (15%) saturated fats: 0.8g (4%) trans fats: 0.1g polyunsaturated fats: 2.2g monounsaturated fats: 7.9g ldl cholesterol: 0mg (0%) sodium: 174mg (8%) carbohydrates: 6.3g (2%) dietary fibre: 2.6g (9%) sugar: 3.8g protein: 1.3g vitamin D: 0mcg (0%) calcium: 17mg (1%) iron: 0.4mg (2%) potassium: 225mg (5%)