Finding the right eggplants is such a big deal to me. Fortunately, our local store often carries the best looking eggplants:)
I made so many slits in the eggplants hoping that it would shorten the deep fry cooking time and also let them absorb more sauce. I used only half an inch of frying oil but it did not come out throughly cooked after 4 minutes. I had to take them out of the pan before they soak up all the oil and stink up my whole house. I simmered them in vegetable stock diluted in one cup of water for another 10 minutes. I topped it with vegetarian crumbled “meat” cooked with ginger, soy bean paste (miso), sugar, ground sesame and sake. The very top is pickled cherry blossom flowers. The greatest thing is…they are edible! I asked my DH how it tastes, and his answer was…”It tastes like a salty flower”!?!?! Yay!
The lessons I learned are that I should have coated the eggplant with a layer of all-purpose flour before deep-frying and to use peanut oil for a lighter taste.
I love eating noodles in salad style. This time is with shrimp, wakame-seaweed, and diced tomatoes. I used udon noodles, a thick Japanese noodle I bought from the frozen section of an international grocery store. Just defrost it in running water and add whatever I have in my refrigerator and pantry. It is topped with shiso, Japanese basil. I grow this delicious herb in my garden. This is one of the must-have vegetables in my family. It can only be harvested during summer and that makes us appreciate it even more! The sauce is Japanese mayonnaise. Every single time I have a chance to talk about food, I recommend this mayo. It is totally different from any mayos you get in American grocery stores. Usually, it can be found at Asian stores and it comes in a tube, then packaged in a clear plastic bag with a cute cupid picture. Right before starting the meal, we pour Mentsuyu (soy sauce based noodle soup) over the entire salad.
