Cheng Can Cook: Baked Japanese Eggplant Recipe ★★★

Easy Eggplant Fix without Miso. I had to cook Eggplant tonight, but I realized that I ran out of Miso, so I came up the recipe below tonight. It ended up tasting like Miso.

Ingredients:
3-4 Eggplants
Bonito Flakes or Green Onions for Garnish (optional)

Sauce: (A bit of everything, more on the Cooking Sake & Mirin. Mix enough to lightly coat Eggplants)
Japanese Cooking Sake
Mirin
Japanese Sesame Sauce (can be optional)
Sesame Oil
Japanese Oyster Soy Sauce (or regular Soy Sauce)
Grated Ginger (optional) (Didn't use because I didn't have any Ginger on hand)
Cooking Oil

1. Preheat Oven to 475 degrees. Slice Eggplant into bite-size pieces.
2. Mix the sauce. Coat Eggplant with sauce.
3. Bake for about 45 minutes (depending on your oven) until Eggplant is soft well coated.
4. Garnish with Bonito Flakes or Green Onions (optional). Good with rice.

Cheng Can Cook: Raku Poached Egg & Eggplant Recipe ★★★

Great Flavor of Raku. Because I won't be going to Vegas for a while, I replicated Raku Las Vegas's recipe for their Poached Egg with Sea Urchin and Salmon Roe. I made a mistake by cracking the Onsen Tamago instead of peeling it. I am such an amateur home cook. Japanese recipes are complicated. Everything needs to be heated up and cool down.
For the Broiled Miso Eggplant, I invented the recipe myself. Both dishes are great with sake and/or rice. Recipes below.

My Replica of Raku's Poached Egg with Sea Urchin & Salmon Roe

Original from Raku Las Vegas $9

Raku's Poached Egg with Sea Urchin and Salmon Roe Recipe:

Dashi Broth:
1/4 cup Bonito Flakes
1-1/4 cup Water
6 inches of Kombu Seaweed

Directions:
1. Simmer water & Kombu in a small pot over medium heat.
2. Remove from heat and add Bonito Flakes. Let stand for 5 minutes.
3. Strain sauce through a fine mesh strainer. Discard Kombu (or keep for 2nd batch) and Bonito Flakes.
Dashi can be stored in the fridge for up to 1 week.

Onsen Tamago Sauce:
1/4 cup Dashi
1/2 Tbsp Mirin
3/4 Tbsp Soy Sauce

Directions:
Heat up everything in a small pot and cool down.

Onsen Tamago:
4-1/4 cups Water (measure 4-1/4 cups and remove 4 teaspoon) (water needs to cover egg completely)
3/4 cup Cold Tap Water (3/4 cup + 4 teaspoon)
1 large Egg, refrigerated

Directions:
1. Add water to small sauce pen, cover with fitted lit and bring to boil.
2. Once boil, remove pot from heat. Take egg out from refrigerator, add cold tap water to pot, gently place egg in the water. Cover and leave it for 15-16 minutes. (Timing might require trial and error testing & adjustment)

Garnishes:
Bunashimeji Mushrooms (just need the heads, boiled)
Okra (boiled, a few thin slices)
Chopped Yamaimo

Directions:
1. Plate Garnishes and Onsen Tamago as pictured.
2. Add the Onsen Tamago Sauce.
3. Tastes best when slightly refrigerated. Serve cool.


Notes to self:
• Chop the yamaimo finer next time
• I cracked open the onsen tamago egg shell instead of peeling it. I am such an amateur home cook.
• I made a mistake of putting the sauce in the serving bowl first – DON'T DO IT! Garnishes will not hold in place and will be all over the place. I ended up pouring the sauce out, plated everything dry, and added the sauce last.
• May need to marinate the mushroom with the Onsen Tamago Sauce.

Broiled Miso Eggplant I invented

Broiled Miso Eggplant Recipe:
A Few Eggplants
About 1.5 Tbsp oil
About 1 Tbsp Miso
About 1.5 Tbsp Mirin
About 1.5 Tbsp Cooking Sake
Spring Onion for Garnsih, chopped
Bonito Flakes for Garnish

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to broil (high-heat baking).
2. Quarter Eggplant in cross section and slice into 1" lengthwise.
3. Mix all the liquid and miso.
4. Mix or brush mixture with Eggplant. Set to broil until it turns slightly brown on the edges. Could be about 25 minutes.
5. Plate Eggplant and garnish with chopped Spring Onion and Bonito Flakes.

Note to self:
• Can think about adding minced ginger to add a kick of spice to the dish next time.

Both dishes are great to pair with sake!

Cheng Can Cook: Eggplant w/ Toona Paste ★

Easy-to-Cook Eggplant w/ Toona (Black Bean Paste) Paste. Just cook Eggplant (use oil to cook and add water while cooking) with Toona Paste and add some chili oil. Use Scallions and Toasted Sesame Seeds for garnish.

Cheng Can Cook: Eggplant in Buttermilk Sauce ★★

Recipe from the book "Plenty: Vibrant Recipes from London's Ottolenghi". Since this is my first time making it, I would modify the recipe a bit by skipping the Greek yogurt and put less Buttermilk Sauce in the Eggplants. Other than that, this is a very visually inviting dish.

Eggplant@Studio City ★★

Spicy Blue Crab Cake $9.50
w/ house spicy sesame sauce

Spicy Miso Eggplant $8
sautéed japanese eggplant w/ house special spicy & sweet miso sauce

Pumpkin LA $7.50
steamed & light sautéed japanese pumpkin w/ house sesame sauce

Salmon Poke $15

Macrobiotic Gozen Box Special with Grilled Spicy Miso Salmon $17.50
ohitashi w/ sesame & mild soy (traditional style spinach, japanese pumpkin, green beans, mushed japanese pumpkin, w/ organic tofu & seawead miso soup, brown rice

Eggplant Restaurant
11266 Ventura Blvd
Studio City, CA 91604
(818) 508-1800

Cheng Can Cook: Eggplant & Oden Somen ★★★

Simple Home Dishes: Spicy Miso Eggplant & Oden Somen. I made the Spicy Miso Eggplant with Miso, Garlic, Ginger, and Scallions. Tastes super. For the Oden Somen, I got the Oden on sale from Korean supermarket for $3.99, and I cooked it with colored Somen from Japanese supermarket. Simple and easy.