Baked Aubergine with Tahini Sauce

Aubergine has always been a favourite of mine. There are so many ways to prepare delicious aubergines. Baked Aubergine with Tahini Sauce is a fusion of Western preparation method with Asian ingredients. It’s been adapted from Christine’s Recipes, replacing miso paste with tahini paste. It turned out a success and tasted really good. 🙂

Preparation time: 10 mins; Cooking time: 40 mins; Serves: 3-4
Ingredients:

2 large aubergines (eggplants), abt 600-650g
2 tbsp sunflower or vegetable oil
salt, to taste (I didn’t use)
sesame seeds, roasted for garnish
chopped spring onion (or chives), for garnish

Sauce Ingredients:

100ml mirin
1½ tbsp tahini paste (sesame paste)
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (or any light soy sauce)
2 tsp Japanese (or Chinese) cooking wine

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 180C.
Rinse aubergines. Cut it in half lengthwise.
Score flesh deeply with tip of a sharp knife in a cross-hatch pattern, yet not cut through to skin (as shown in picture above).
Spray the cut side or brush with oil and season with salt, to taste (which I didn’t use).
Transfer aubergines to a lined baking tray. Cover with a foil and bake for abt 40 mins, till aubergines are softened.
In the meantime, combine all sauce ingredients in a small sauce pan. Cook over medium heat and stir occasionally. When it starts to boil and sugar’s completely dissolved, remove from heat.
Remove aubergines from oven and put on a serving dish. Discard excess liquid.
Drizzle sauce over top of aubergines liberally.
Sprinkle sesame seeds and spring onion for garnish. Serve immediately.

Notes:

Aubergines can soak up a lot of oil. If using oil spray, the amount of fat used can be controlled without making the dish too heavy.
Mirin is an essential condiment used in Japanese cuisine, available at Asian grocers.
When preparing the sauce, use a large spoon to press tahini (or miso) paste and help it dissolve thoroughly.
It’s better not to overcook tahini (or miso) paste, otherwise much of its nutrition would be lost.
When sauce starts to boil, remove pan from heat as quickly as possible.
Aubergines used were quite large and thick but this recipe would also work for small narrow ones. The baking time needs to be adjusted accordingly.

with plain steamed white rice