Making Sweet and Sour Japanese Eggplant with Peanuts, Coriander, and Sesame Peppercorns

To start making this delicious dish, I'm going to toast my spices. This is going to release all of those beautiful oils and bring out the flavors of the coriander. As you can see, the coriander is starting to get a little bit darker, which means it's releasing its natural oils. I'll get these right out of the pan before they burn because I'm actually going to use them whole later. Because I need the full flavor and aroma of the spices, I won't grind them yet. Instead, I'll just stash them to the side for now.

I'll do the same thing with my sesame peppercorns. Sesame peppercorns are one of my favorite ingredients, but a little goes a long way. They're going straight into the spice grinder and will be ground into a nice medium to fine powder. This is going to give me more surface area for flavor distribution in the dish.

Now that I have my toasted coriander and sesame peppercorns ready, it's time to make the sauce. To balance out the acidity of the apple cider vinegar, I need some sweetness. That's why I'm using an equal amount of honey in this recipe. Additionally, I'll be adding some gojou Garo, a Korean chili flake, which is not incredibly spicy but does add a nice depth of flavor to the dish.

To combine all these ingredients together, I'll just mix them in a bowl until everything is well incorporated. Now that my sauce is ready, it's time to start cooking my Japanese eggplant. The Japanese eggplant has the right texture and neutral oil for this recipe, which means it will absorb all the flavors nicely. Because my pan is so hot, I want to use an oil with a really high smoke point to prevent burning or smoking.

I'll evenly coat the bottom of the pan with some neutral oil and then add the eggplant directly into the pan. The goal is to caramelize the eggplant on the outside while keeping it tender on the inside. A little bit of salt will help the eggplant release its moisture, which in turn will enhance the flavors. Now that my eggplant is in the pan, I'll add some thinly sliced red onion and garlic for a couple of minutes to wilt them down.

As the onions are wilting, I'll use the toasted coriander and sesame peppercorn mixture to deglaze the pan. This will release all the flavors from the bottom of the pan and create a rich sauce. The sauce is reducing really quickly now, so I'll turn off the heat to prevent burning or over-reduction.

Now that my sauce has thickened up nicely, it's time to add some finishing touches. A little more salt will bring out the flavors in the eggplant, while just a touch of pepper adds a bit of spice. Some sesame oil will be added for extra flavor and aroma. The next step is to squeeze some fresh lime juice over the dish, using both the zest and the juice to add brightness and acidity.

To finish off this delicious sweet and sour Japanese eggplant with peanuts, coriander, and sesame peppercorns, I'll top it with some Spanish roasted peanuts for added texture and nuttiness. I also have some cilantro stems that I love for their flavor and texture, so these will be added on top as well.

The final step is to garnish the dish with a sprinkle of chopped cilantro leaves, which add a fresh and herbaceous note to the plate. One of the most fun ways to eat your vegetables is by incorporating lots of texture and flavor into them, and that's exactly what I've done here. With this sweet and sour Japanese eggplant, you'll be treated to a delightful balance of flavors and textures that will leave you wanting more.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: entoday I'm making sweet and sour Japanese eggplant with peanuts coriander and sesan peppercorns so I'm going to start by toasting my spices coriander what this is going to do is release all of those beautiful oils jiggle those spices around you can see that they're starting to get a little bit darker I'm going to get these right out of the pan before they burn and because I'm actually going to use these whole later I'm just going to stash them to the side do the same thing with my sesan peppercorns sesan peppercorns are one of my favorite things but a little goes a Long Way those are going to go straight into the spice grinder and give them a nice grind so I'm turning these into a nice sort of medium to fine powder to this some apple cider vinegar an equal amount of honey you need to balance out the vinegar with some sweetness some gojou Garo which is a Korean chili flake they're not incredibly spicy this is the chili pepper that's used to make kimchi just sort of combine all of this together I'm using Japanese eggplant for me the Japanese eggplant has the right texture some neutral oil and because my pan is so hot I want to use an oil that has a really high smoke point evenly coat the bottom of that pan and I'm going to go directly in with that eggplant caramelization equals flavor so don't be scared of a little Browning immediately on the outside of that eggplant a little bit of salt it's going to allow the eggplant to release some moisture to this I'm going to add some thinly sliced red onion thinly sliced garlic just a couple of minutes here just to sort of Wilt those onions coriander is already toasted that sesan peppercorn mixture to De glaze the pan and there's so much flavor in this pan now and it's reducing really quickly and I'm going to turn the heat off I really just kind of want it to feel a little bit sticky add a little bit more salt here pepper just a touch of sesame oil and then I'm going to use some fresh lime so I'm going to start by using some of the zest and squeeze a little fresh lime in there and then I'm going to take these Spanish roasted peanuts for a little texture and a little nuttiness I have cilantro stems here I love the flavor of cilantro and you get a little bit of texture here so easy sweet and sour eggplant with so much flavor plate this you can see it's not super Saucy all of that flavor has really been absorbed into the eggplant finish this off with a little extra squeeze of lime few more peanuts to garnish the top of this and then I have some cilantro leaves here too these are more for garnish in my opinion one of the most fun ways to eat your vegetables is to incorporate lots of texture and flavor into them let's try this out so good I could eat this whole platetoday I'm making sweet and sour Japanese eggplant with peanuts coriander and sesan peppercorns so I'm going to start by toasting my spices coriander what this is going to do is release all of those beautiful oils jiggle those spices around you can see that they're starting to get a little bit darker I'm going to get these right out of the pan before they burn and because I'm actually going to use these whole later I'm just going to stash them to the side do the same thing with my sesan peppercorns sesan peppercorns are one of my favorite things but a little goes a Long Way those are going to go straight into the spice grinder and give them a nice grind so I'm turning these into a nice sort of medium to fine powder to this some apple cider vinegar an equal amount of honey you need to balance out the vinegar with some sweetness some gojou Garo which is a Korean chili flake they're not incredibly spicy this is the chili pepper that's used to make kimchi just sort of combine all of this together I'm using Japanese eggplant for me the Japanese eggplant has the right texture some neutral oil and because my pan is so hot I want to use an oil that has a really high smoke point evenly coat the bottom of that pan and I'm going to go directly in with that eggplant caramelization equals flavor so don't be scared of a little Browning immediately on the outside of that eggplant a little bit of salt it's going to allow the eggplant to release some moisture to this I'm going to add some thinly sliced red onion thinly sliced garlic just a couple of minutes here just to sort of Wilt those onions coriander is already toasted that sesan peppercorn mixture to De glaze the pan and there's so much flavor in this pan now and it's reducing really quickly and I'm going to turn the heat off I really just kind of want it to feel a little bit sticky add a little bit more salt here pepper just a touch of sesame oil and then I'm going to use some fresh lime so I'm going to start by using some of the zest and squeeze a little fresh lime in there and then I'm going to take these Spanish roasted peanuts for a little texture and a little nuttiness I have cilantro stems here I love the flavor of cilantro and you get a little bit of texture here so easy sweet and sour eggplant with so much flavor plate this you can see it's not super Saucy all of that flavor has really been absorbed into the eggplant finish this off with a little extra squeeze of lime few more peanuts to garnish the top of this and then I have some cilantro leaves here too these are more for garnish in my opinion one of the most fun ways to eat your vegetables is to incorporate lots of texture and flavor into them let's try this out so good I could eat this whole plate\n"