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Korean eggplant salad

Korean-Style Eggplant Salad

This bright, juicy Asian-inspired salad is always the first thing to disappear from the table. It comes together quickly and easily, and it uses ingredients you probably already have on hand. It's a great pick if you're watching your weight, eating light, or keeping things vegetarian. Serve it any time of day, on a busy weeknight or a holiday spread. It works as a salad, a side dish alongside meat or fish, or even a filling for wraps.

wella

Recipe author

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Eggplant

250

Bell pepper

150

Carrot

Onion

Salt

0.5

Olive oil

Fresh herbs

Soy sauce

Olive oil

1.5

Sugar

Garlic

Lemon juice

0.5

Cilantro, coriander

0.5

Sesame seeds

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 12 % 2 g

Fats 41 % 7 g

Carbohydrates 47 % 8 g

93 kcal

GI: 88 / 0 / 13

Cooking method

Cooking time: 35 min

Step 1:

How do you make Korean-style eggplant salad? Wash the eggplant, cut it into thin strips, and draw out the bitterness. You can do this by soaking the strips in salted water for a while, or by salting them and then rinsing quickly but thoroughly under cold water.
Step 2:

Pat the strips dry, then fry them in oil over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes.
Step 3:

While the eggplant fries, thinly slice the onion (red or white works best).
Step 4:

Now move on to the pepper, peeled and rinsed. Remember, we're going for thin strips here — cut the pepper a little thinner than the eggplant.
Step 5:

Slice the peeled and rinsed carrot just as thinly. You can use a knife or a Korean-style vegetable julienne peeler.
Step 6:

Let's make the dressing. Peel the garlic, wash it, pat it dry, and mince it very finely.
Step 7:

Crush the coriander seeds and stir together all the dressing ingredients.
Step 8:

Finely chop the fresh herbs.
Step 9:

That's it. Pile all the vegetables into a bowl and toss them with the dressing. Mix well and chill in the refrigerator. How long? That's up to you — but if you can't wait, give it at least an hour to soak up the flavors.
Step 10:

Don't forget to sprinkle the salad with sesame seeds just before serving!

A few more tips: try to cut all the vegetables to roughly the same size — the salad looks nicer and is easier to eat that way. When rinsing the salted eggplant, don't let it sit in the water too long. For an even more colorful salad, use all three colors of bell pepper and add a few extra spices. The salad turns out juicier and tastier if it rests in the fridge for a while — traditionally, even overnight. Adjust the amount of vinegar (and the other seasonings) to taste; the classic recipe calls for quite a lot, but you can swap it for lemon juice, as I did. If you'd rather not fry the eggplant, simmer it in a little water for a few minutes instead. To salt or not to salt? I skipped it — the eggplant was already soaked in salt, and the soy sauce brings plenty of savory punch.
Every oil is only good up to a certain temperature — its smoke point — beyond which it starts to burn and forms harmful compounds. Choose an oil with a high smoke point for frying, such as refined olive or vegetable oil.
Keep in mind that soy sauce is quite salty. Cut back on the added salt so you don't overseason the dish.