"Fainting Eggplant": Scored, Deep-Fried Plain in Rice Bran Oil, and Soaked in a Sweet Ponzu Sauce

The recipe is simple. You score the eggplant, deep-fry it plain, and soak it in a sauce of ponzu, sugar, and doubanjiang. Add pork shabu-shabu and that one dish is enough for a meal. The demonstration even went as far as serving it with somen noodles.

Ryuji explains that 6 eggplants make 2 to 3 servings. For one person, about 3 is fine. The pork is shabu-shabu-style sliced pork, one 250g pack this time. He says you can prepare as much as you like, and any cut is fine: belly, leg, or loin.

This time the staff bought leg. Ryuji pointed out that he doesn't normally buy leg and that it has never once appeared in his previous shabu-shabu videos. The staff member explained that since they'd been told "shabu-shabu slices are fine," they chose the one that seemed healthiest. Ryuji acknowledged that shabu-shabu slices come in leg, loin, and belly, and that it was entirely his fault for not specifying the cut. He then wrapped things up by saying he didn't want to be like someone who asks their husband to go shopping and then gets angry when he comes back with the wrong thing because of their own poor explanation. He added that since leg has the least fat, it might actually be just right this time, paired with something fried.

He asked viewers to check the description box for the seasoning amounts, and, as is his custom, Ryuji had a drink before starting to cook.

First, cut off the stem. If you remove it by shaving around the edge of the cap, you get more edible flesh. Ryuji describes this as "pushing right up to the limit." Next, rinse the eggplant lightly with water, since it smells of soil.

Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise, then, leaving about 1 to 2 cm at the base, make cuts with the knife from there to the tip. If you don't keep the base connected, it will fall apart. He says this cut looks nice and also helps it cook through more easily. He also says that because eggplant is delicious on its own, there's no need to be too particular about how you score it.

So that moisture doesn't spatter when frying, place the cut eggplant on paper towels or similar to draw off the water. You don't soak it to remove bitterness. Ryuji explains that eggplants these days don't have much bitterness, so it's fine. When the staff asked, "Is that all the prep, and it's just fried plain?" he replied that frying is the ultimate way to cook eggplant, so doing unnecessary prep would only make it less tasty.

While cutting, Ryuji grumbled that this batch of eggplant was "close in length" and "had tough skin." His view is that large eggplants generally have tough skin. Even so, he says once they're fried they're fine. Long eggplants are about twice the size of these and harder to eat, so he says he prefers smaller ones. If you use long eggplants, cut them in half or so first and then score them the same way. He also said eggplant stays delicious through early autumn and is an ingredient you really should eat at this time of year.

The sauce is done just by mixing. The ponzu is the one Ryuji normally uses, "Kaori no Kura Marushibori Yuzu," and he says he likes its yuzu aroma. He volunteered that he also does sponsored work for this product, joking, "I'm a realist, so I go where the money is." On the other hand, he added that he isn't being told to use it; it's just that if he's going to use ponzu anyway, he'll use the one from the company he has a contract with. He says regular ponzu or Ajipon will make it plenty delicious too. He first said 100cc, but after tasting it he said "it's better to add a bit more" and changed it to 120cc.

The sugar is 4 teaspoons. The staff were surprised at how much sweetness that was, but Ryuji explains that ponzu is sour and salty, so adding sweetness makes it tastier and brings it into balance. Add about 1 1/3 teaspoons of doubanjiang for a little heat. He also offered an alternative: people who don't like spicy food can use miso instead of doubanjiang to add richness. The dried red chili is only scattered on at the end, so it doesn't go in at this stage.

Bring about 1L of water to a boil and cook the pork. Ryuji has previously said to "cook it in pork broth," but this time the sauce is delicious, so plain water instead of broth is fine. In exchange, add salt to about a 1% concentration, roughly what you'd use to boil pasta. This seasons the meat.

Adding the meat one slice at a time while spreading it out keeps it from clumping. Keep the heat on and work quickly. With leg meat, swish it briefly through the water and pull it out as soon as the red color is gone. Ryuji stressed, "Absolutely don't go any further than this." Residual heat will cook it through, so it's fine if a little pinkness remains. When the staff checked, "That's enough to cook it?" he answered that you really just pass it through the water.

Spread the meat out on a tray and put it straight into the freezer. He says the freezer is fine when you want to cool it quickly, but it's important that the tray be metal, since metal conducts heat fast and cools quickly.

What Ryuji emphasized most strongly was the choice of frying oil. He asks viewers to use rice bran oil and to absolutely not fry with salad oil. His reasoning is that frying in salad oil makes it heavy, while rice bran oil is light, and he calls this the "Mama Point" that determines how good the fried eggplant turns out. The bottle used this time was given to him by J-Oil Mills and is a blend of rice bran oil and soybean oil. It comes in a large size and is cheap, so he says something like this is fine.

For the amount of oil, use a fairly large pot filled about 1 cm from the bottom. When bubbles form around chopsticks dipped into it, add the eggplant skin side first. He says this is because he wants to fry the skin first.

While frying, the eggplant absorbs oil, loses moisture, and shrinks. When the staff said it's hard to tell when it's done, Ryuji answered that with eggplant, it's ready once there are no hard spots left. He says it's done when it feels soft and jiggly when you lift it. Color can also be a guide, but softness is the most important thing. At the end, showing the actual eggplant, he demonstrated that once it's soft and there's no white part left in the middle, it's time to take it out.

Frying the skin turns it a vivid purple. When the staff noticed that eggplant loses its color in miso soup but stays a beautiful color when fried, Ryuji explained that oil doesn't strip the color. On the eggplant shrinking, he said fried eggplant is delicious precisely because the moisture evaporates and the umami becomes more and more concentrated.

While acknowledging that some people may find frying a hassle and not want to do it, Ryuji recommends this recipe. He says the oil used for plain frying stays clear, so it can be reused, and throwing it out after one use would be a waste. You can use it for karaage too. He also reconfirmed that drawing off moisture before frying is to reduce oil spatter.

Place the fried eggplant on paper to drain the oil. Because of the cuts, oil gets into them. He says if you don't drain it properly, it ends up heavy and greasy. For those even more concerned about oil, pressing down from above with paper towels squeezes out more oil and can cut the calories a bit further.

Dip the eggplant into the sauce one piece at a time. According to Ryuji, the flavor soaks in quickly with this recipe. Because the cuts absorb the sauce, there's no need to let it sit for 2 to 3 hours or half a day; you can eat it right after soaking. If you want to let it sit longer, he says to add a little water, because the sauce is strongly flavored and the eggplant keeps soaking it up. Since the flavor is a bit strong to eat on its own, Ryuji's recommendation is to eat it freshly made after chilling it slightly, or to eat it with rice or somen. Later, when the staff asked how much water to add, he answered that if you add about 3 tablespoons (as it sounds) and let it sit, it won't get too salty even when well soaked.

Scattering sliced red chili on top as a finish adds color and a bit of heat, making it suited to summer. In households with children, you can leave it out. If you're eating it right away, a light chill is enough.

The pork taken out of the freezer hadn't hardened and was still soft and floppy. Once plated, Ryuji says the addition of meat instantly makes it look like a proper main dish. He opened up a cross-section to show that it had been cooked all the way through by residual heat alone. Leg-meat pork shabu-shabu alone looks a little sparse, so scattering some scallions makes it presentable. He says the pork shabu-shabu is purely optional, and if eggplant alone is enough as a side for rice, you can just make the eggplant.

He boiled 3 bundles of somen. They were from last year, but Ryuji says last year's somen is really good. Rather than following the package time, boil them for about 30 to 45 seconds. He likes his noodles firm and crunchy, so he says he prefers 30 seconds. This time he boiled them for 45.

Right after boiling, the noodles are still hard like wire. Leaving them in ice water for about a minute lets them gently soften into firm, crunchy, "barikata" (extra-firm) noodles. He added that this is a matter of preference, and people who prefer them boiled normally should just boil them normally. Lightly squeeze out the water and shake off the excess, and they plate neatly. Asked how to arrange them, he replied that it doesn't matter, since everyone's going to dig in and mess it up anyway. And with that, the "Survive-the-Summer Set" was complete.

First they ate the eggplant alone. Ryuji and the staff both said "delicious," and the staff remarked that it tasted as if it had been marinated for hours. It was still a little warm, but Ryuji says it's good chilled too.

Next, they dipped the pork shabu-shabu in the sauce and ate it with the eggplant. The staff praised its tenderness and sweetness. Ryuji explains that with ponzu alone it's hard to keep eating, but the added sweetness makes it easier to eat. He says the meat is good on its own too. He also said that eating the eggplant after bouncing it once on rice is pretty great. As for the cut, he says pork belly is really his top recommendation, and belly turns out tender. Leg, on the other hand, has little fat and a fibrous texture like chicken tenderloin. He revised his assessment, saying that people who like that kind of texture can use leg, and that actually eating it, it was plenty delicious.

For the somen, you take some into a bowl, pour an appropriate amount of sauce over it, and top it with the marinated pork and eggplant. Ryuji called this the "Ultimate Set." The staff described it as being able to do a "three-way use," since it works on its own as eggplant, with rice, and with somen. Ryuji says the acidity makes the somen go down smoothly. The staff said this level of doneness is the best and that the firm, crunchy texture is great, and Ryuji responded, "Somen was the right call." He also said it goes well with alcohol, and that he thinks food in summer is better a bit on the salty side.

To close, Ryuji said he chose this because there hadn't been many vegetable-focused recipes, and he's very satisfied since it can be eaten as a complete set from one dish. He summed up that it was a recipe he absolutely wanted to introduce this summer: at the time of year when eggplant is at its most delicious, you just score it with a knife and fry it, and with a good ponzu it becomes incredibly delicious.

Finally, following up on the pork issue from the beginning, the conversation turned to how hard it is to give shopping instructions. Ryuji says shopping takes considerable skill, and just being able to shop properly is impressive. The example he gave was ponzu. If you're asked to "buy ponzu" and you come back with a product labeled "ponzu," you're correct. Ajipon is labeled differently, so if you want Ajipon, you have to say "Ajipon." Even so, Ryuji thinks most people would get angry if someone came back with something other than what they intended. Saying "people are complicated," he suggested sending a picture of the product you want over LINE.

The talk about rice bran oil continued. According to Ryuji, kushiage and tempura restaurants that fry in rice bran oil have recently become popular. When the staff asked, "Is it because it doesn't oxidize easily?" Ryuji gave a different reason. Tempura restaurants often fry in taihaku sesame oil, which has little aroma, but handling it every day leaves the smell of oil on your body. Rice bran oil doesn't leave an oily smell, so tempura restaurants that fry in rice bran oil are very popular in Tokyo. He says he heard this from the owner of a tempura restaurant.