This Jewish Food Hero community recipe is Rithy’s Umami Miso Ginger Eggplant. Community Recipes is a recurring feature where I ask a community member to share a vegan recipe with us. This Umami Miso Ginger Eggplant recipe is a simplified home-style version of a Japanese eggplant dish.
About Rithy
Rithy is a Cambodian woman and an amazing cook. Most importantly, she is the type of person who never rushes and she radiates peace in the kitchen. After she finished high school, she decided that cooking would be her career path. So, she completed a 6-month training course at an NGO in Phnom Penh, Cambodia in 2002. Through that course, she learned how to cook French and Thai food. Rithy then worked at the NGO for 3 years as an assistant cooking instructor. She also worked at various restaurants in Phnom Penh.
Most recently, Rithy created the school lunch program at the Ecole Francaise de Battambang (International French School of Battambang). Rithy developed the school’s menu and cooked lunch for 40+ students and teachers every day. Can you imagine doing that while radiating peace?! Rithy did it! Rithy’s Umami Miso Ginger Eggplant Recipe is a recipe that she developed for the school menu. Everyone loved this dish.
Rithy is not a Vegan (and we love her still)
Rithy is not a vegan but she often cooks and eats vegan food. As a Cambodian woman, her diet revolves around rice. Everyday, she eats rice and vegetables and small amounts of meat and egg. Her favorite fruit is green mango which she eats a few times a week.
Rithy’s cooking style
Rithy’s cooking style focuses on fresh ingredients and a good balance between healthy food and food that people will love to eat. These are the key principles in Rithy’s Umami Miso Ginger Eggplant recipe.
As of late, she has fallen in love with vegan cooking. As a result, she teaches herself how to make new dishes by watching cooking videos on Facebook.
About Rithy’s Umami Miso Ginger Eggplant
This recipe was inspired by a Facebook recipe that Rithy saw. She adapted it to make it more suitable for children and adults alike. What about if you want to make Rithy’s Umami Miso Ginger Eggplant but eggplant is not your thing? You can substitute zucchini or firm tofu, or use both. You can even just make the Umami Miso Ginger sauce and serve it over your favorite steamed vegetable.
Special Ingredients
Rithy’s Umami Miso Ginger Eggplant uses the following special ingredients:
Kosher Miso Paste: This miso paste produces a flavorful sweet, salty and vinegary sauce. Miso is a fermented food which has many health benefits that you can read about here.
Kosher soy sauce: This kosher soy sauce is delicious because it is made with mountain spring water and is aged to taste perfection.
Rithy’s Umami Miso Ginger Eggplant has gotten positive feedback from friends, we hope you love it too. You might be licking your fingers – this sauce is finger-licking good.
More Jewish Food Hero Community Recipes
Here are some other favorite Jewish Food Hero community recipes.
Looking for more plant-based inspiration?
Jewish Food Hero has published two cookbooks, each full of plant-based / vegan dishes which are good for your body and soul:
The Jewish Food Hero Cookbook: 50 Plant-based Recipes For Your Holiday Meals
Feeding Women of the Bible, Feeding Ourselves
Rithy’s Umami Miso Ginger Eggplant
- Prep Time: 1 hour
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: Serves 4
- Cuisine: Vegan
Ingredients
3 medium eggplants (or 4-5 medium zucchini)
1 tablespoon salt (for salting)
10 green onions, minced and set aside in a small prep bowl – for garnish
3 garlic cloves, minced and set aside in a small prep bowl
1 teaspoon of canola oil, or spray the frying pan with canola oil spray
For the sauce:
2 cups of water
½ teaspoon ginger, minced
2 teaspoon vinegar (apple cider or white vinegar)
1 teaspoon soy sauce
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon of white miso
1 tablespoon of cornstarch
¼ – 1 teaspoon chili powder
Instructions
Cut off the top and bottom off the eggplant, cut in half, then cut into thick ½ inch slices lengthwise.
Place in a prep bowl and salt with 1 tbsp of salt. Allow to sit and soften for 1 hour.
Meanwhile, make the Miso Ginger Sauce. Place 3 cups of good water into a medium prep bowl.
Add 1 tsp of minced ginger, 1 teaspoon vinegar (apple cider or white vinegar), 1 teaspoon of soy sauce, ½ teaspoon of salt, 1 teaspoon of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of Miso and 1 tablespoon cornstarch.
Mix well and add chili powder to taste.
After the eggplant has been marinating in salt for 1 hour, place it on a clean cloth and pat gently with another cloth to take out the liquid.
Add the canola oil to the frying pan and brown each piece of eggplant (2 min each side).
Place the browned eggplant on a clean cooking sheet.
In the same frying pan (don’t clean it) – fry the garlic until fragrant and slightly brown (being careful not to burn it).
Add the sauce and simmer for 10-15 minutes.
Serve over rice or mashed potato. Garnish with green onion.
Keywords: Vegan, umami, eggplant, miso, ginger, Japanese
