A classic Japanese-fusion dish but instead of the traditional pork or chicken I’ve decided to give it a whirl with aubergine discs making this meal 100% vegetarian whilst keeping 100% of the flavour. Aubergine, in my opinion, is the perfect candidate to stand in the place of meat – especially when fried. Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside.
Suggested Wine pairing
Loimer Riesling
INGREDIENTS
Fried aubergine
2 Aubergines
Breadcrumbs (I blitzed up old sourdough) – 100g
Plain flour – 2 tbsp
Water
Salt & Pepper
Quick-pickled sesame cucumbers
1 cucumber – sliced into 1cm semicircles
Sesame seeds – 1 handful
Soy sauce – 1 tbsp
Rice vinegar – 1 tbsp
Salt – 1 tbsp
Sugar – 1/2 tsp
Chilli flakes – sprinkle
Sticky rice
Japanese Sushi rice – 320g
Mirin or Rice vinegar – glug
Katsu sauce
1 onion – finely chopped
1 carrot – finely chopped
2 garlic cloves – minced
Ginger – 1 inch minced
Fresh coriander bunch (stalks and all) – finely chopped
Garam masala – 1 tsp
Turmeric powder – 1 tsp
Chilli powder – 1/2 tsp
Curry powder – 1 tsp
Coriander powder – 1/2 tsp
Sesame oil – glug
Flour – 2 Tbsp
800ml veg stock
Mirabelle plum jam – 2 tbsp
METHOD
1.
Preheat oven to 180C – fan-assisted oven.
2.
Measure out your rice and wash in a bowl of water, rinse and repeat until the water is clear. then allow the rice to soak for a minimum of 15 minutes in fresh water. This ensures the rice cooks evenly.
3.
In a bowl combine plain flour, salt and pepper with some water until you get a runny paste. Slice the aubergines into 2cm thick discs, dunk in the paste and then dunk in the bread crumbs and in a heavy based pan fry in some olive oil until lightly golden on both sides. Do this in batches then place the aubergine discs on a baking tray, pop in the oven and cook for 10-15mins.
4.
Whilst the aubergine is cooking away, in a saucepan on a medium heat fry the onion, carrot, garlic and ginger in the sesame oil until soft, then add the fresh coriander and all of the powders and cook until caramelised. Now add the plain flour and mix until a paste forms and then add the veg stock and jam and gently whisk together, cover and simmer on a low heat until the sauce has combined.
5.
Add the washed rice to 450ml fresh cold water and bring to the boil. Then simmer on a low heat for 10 minutes with the lid on. Turn off the heat, add a generous glug of Mirin or rice vinegar and leave to stand for 10 minutes with the lid on before serving.
6.
For the quick-pickled cucumbers combine the cucumber semicircles with the soy sauce, rice vinegar, salt and sesame seeds. Gently scrunch the cucumbers in your hand so that they break down ever so slightly. Sprinkle with chilli flakes to garnish.