Grilled Asian Aubergine Salad

When thinking of fall recipes, comfort food like warming soups come to mind, but it’s a great time for making salads as well! There are so many fresh crunchy veggies in season that it’s easy to get all kinds of delicious pairings like butternut squash with apples, caramelised figs with rocket and feta cheese and many more. If you are looking for more hearty and healthy salads make sure to check out some more of our salad recipes!

This mouthwateringly delicious salad is made with Grilled Aubergine infused with Chinese flavours which covers all tastes in one – tangy, salty, sweet and umami flavours. This salad is a celebration of textures and flavours with each smoky bite being more tempting than the next. It also serves as a great accompaniment to any Asian-inspired meal along with rice. For best flavours serve it straight from the wok.

Aubergines 

A vegetable that is either loved or hated. I myself am a huge fan. Also known as eggplants or brinjals – are a brilliant source of dietary fibre, as well as vitamins and minerals such as potassium, copper and magnesium. They’re also very low in calories.

Eggplant’s high moisture content and spongy texture can sometimes scare away cooks, but once you learn to work with them you will discover how versatile and delicious they can truly be! Cooking aubergine can be a bit tricky. Too much oil and they become slimy, cut too thick and they have an unpleasant chunky texture, overcooking them can leave a bitter taste etc.

Grilling is a very old method of cooking vegetables to enhance their natural sweetness. It also adda smoky flavour which always compliments the flavour of the dish. For this recipe the aubergine is tender in the middle with slightly charred edges giving it the perfect texture. They are then coated with delicious Chinese ingredients which provides so much flavour and combine perfectly with the aubergine!

How to make this grilled aubergine salad:

• Remove the tops of the aubergines and cut into 2.5 cm discs.
• It all starts with salting which is meant to draw bitterness out of the slices. I find that salting is required for larger “meaty” aubergine. However it is a step that can be skipped for the smaller ones.
• The next step is to grill them in batches with little oil. Don’t pour a lot of oil in the pan as the aubergine will absorb it and become slimy and oily. If the aubergine feels dry brush it with more oil.
• After grilling, toss them into the dressing and cook until tender, this will give them added flavour. 

Helpful Tips and Tricks To make the Grilled Aubergine Salad

• Always salt the aubergine and let it stand for at least 30 min to an hour to remove any bitterness.
• If you want this to be 100% gluten-free, make sure you use a gluten-free soy sauce or Organic Japanese Tamari Soya Sauce (a Japanese variant of soy sauce that’s usually gluten-free) available in our shop.
• You can keep leftovers in the refrigerator for up to 2-3 days.

Let me know what you think of this recipe:

If you made this recipe and enjoyed it – or did anything differently – I’d love to hear from you! You can write opinions or any queries down below in the comments 👇

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Serves: 2 Prep Time: 15 Min + 1 hour stand time Cooking Time: 20 Minutes 20 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 4.7/5

( 6 voted )

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Ingredients

• 1 large aubergine, cut into 2.5cm diameter rounds 
• Vegetable oil for frying
• Salt

For the dressing: 

• 100 ml Shaoxing rice wine
• 15g or 1/4 cup fresh root ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
• 2 spring onions, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 red chilli, sliced
• 1 & 1/2 tbsp tamari sauce
• 1 tbsp brown rice wine  vinegar
• 1 tbsp brown sugar
• 2-3 tbsp vegetable oil (for grilling and dressing)
• Fresh coriander to garnish

method

1. Sprinkle some salt on the sliced aubergine and then leave to stand for 1 hour. Wipe off the salt with a kitchen towel. Pour a little oil in a grill pan and add the sliced aubergine and cook on both sides until the pieces are half-cooked and just beginning to soften and have slightly charred edges, brushing with more oil as necessary. Remove from the pan and drain and dry well on kitchen towel.
2. To make the dressing, heat 1/2 tbsp of oil in a wok and fry the chilli, ginger and garlic for a couple minutes until they slightly soften. Next add the tamarind sauce and Shaoxing wine and cook until all of the alcohol has burned off. Add the sugar and stir until dissolved, before adding the rice vinegar. Cook and mix for a minute.
3. To finish, add three quarters of the spring onions to the dressing in the wok, and heat until boiling before adding 5-6 slices of the aubergine and cook in the wok for about 4-5 min utes until tender. Repeat for the rest of the slices, keeping the cooked slices warm if serving immediately. Plate the fully cooked slices in your serving dish, garnish with the remaining spring onions and coriander and serve immediately. 

Did You Make This Recipe?

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