Bulgogi?
It’s a Korean specialty. Koreans have been making the classic dish for hundreds of years—sometimes grilled and sometimes in a broth. In recent times, the dish has become rockstar-popular on Korean and international menus.
Bulgogi roughly translates to “fire meat.” Although the dish is usually made with beef, this is bulgogi with a twist— a wonderful grilled eggplant version. The sauce in this recipe is spicy-sweet and takes minutes to prepare. I suspect you will find any number of uses for it.
It’s a fast prep, too. What’s not to love?
This recipe is adapted from one by New York Times food writer Eric Kim. In a piece about bulgogi, Kim quotes a Korean restaurant owner, another Mr. Kim, who describes bulgogi as comforting “home food” that is tried, true and beloved. According to Mr. Kim, “Bulgogi is not the Ferrari, it’s your grandfather’s Cadillac.”
Bulgogi Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 pound Asian eggplant (sliced lengthwise into 1/4-inch slices)
- 1/2 t. kosher salt
- Neutral oil (I used grape seed oil)
- 1 T. soy sauce
- 1 T. maple syrup
- 1 T. granulated sugar
- 1/4 t. garlic powder
- Freshly-ground black pepper
- 1 green onion (thinly sliced on the bias)
Directions
- Step 1 Slice eggplant and place in a colander in your sink to drain. Sprinkle with salt and toss to combine. Let the eggplant sit and drain in the colander for about 30 minutes.
- Step 2 Heat a grill (outdoor bbq or indoor grill pan).
- Step 3 Prepare sauce by whisking soy sauce, maple syrup, sugar and garlic powder together until the sugar dissolves. Set aside.
- Step 4 Toss drained (and dried) eggplant strips in 1 T. oil. Grease grates on your grill. Grill the eggplant strips until the eggplant has softened and charred at the edges. This will take a couple minutes per side.
- Step 5 Put the charred eggplant strips in the bowl of sauce and toss to thinly-coat each slice with sauce. (You can serve extra sauce on the side. This is a wonderful sauce.) Arrange grilled eggplant slices on a platter. Grate some black pepper over the top of the eggplant and garnish with sliced green onion. Serve with white rice.
This recipe is adapted from a New York Times recipe. You can find the original recipe here.
