Japanese cuisine · Vegetable Dishes

Nasu no Karashi Zuke

Eggplant pieces steep in a fiery brine of mustard powder, sake and sugar — a specialty from Yamagata.

Ingredients · for 4 servings

• 800 g small eggplants
• 2 tbsp hot mustard powder (karashi)
• 3 tbsp sake
• 3 tbsp sugar
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp rice vinegar
• 1 piece ginger (3 cm)

Instructions

1. Wash the eggplants, remove the stem ends and quarter the fruits lengthwise, then cut crosswise into pieces 3 cm long; the brine will need 6 hours, better overnight, afterward.
2. Mix the pieces thoroughly with the salt, weigh them down with a plate and let them release water for 30 min.
3. Bring the sake to a boil in a small pot and let it bubble for 1 min. so the alcohol cooks off, then take it off the heat and let it cool.
4. Stir the mustard powder smooth with 3 tbsp lukewarm water, let it stand covered for 10 min. — only then does its full heat develop — and mix it with the sake, sugar, soy sauce and rice vinegar.
5. Squeeze the eggplant pieces firmly until almost no more liquid comes out, and put them with the finely grated ginger into the mustard brine so all pieces are covered.
6. Let it steep covered in the fridge for at least 6 hours and serve the pieces cold in small bowls alongside rice.