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Gochujang-Glazed Eggplant with Fried Scallions


 This recipe is divine!  Sticky red sauce cling to  the fried eggplant, caramelizes in the heat and the scallion oil makes the dish!  It's salty, spicy and sweet!


Ingredients:

1 lb of Japanese eggplant halved lengthwise and cut into 4-5 inch pieces
1 tsp kosher salt
2 tablespoons gochujang
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 packed teaspoons dark brown sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 garlic cloves grated
1/2 cup olive oil
4 scallions, trimmed, cu into 3 inch segments then very thinly sliced lengthwise, white and green parts separated.

Prep:

Place the eggplant in a colander set inside a large bowl or the sink.  Sprinkle with the salt, toss to combine and let sit of 30 minutes to remove the moisture.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl, add the gochjang, soy sauce, brown sugar, sesame oil and garlic.  Whisk to combine and set aside.

To a large nonstick skillet, add the olive oil and the white parts of the scallions.  Turn the heat to medium and fry the scallions, stirring often, until crispy and evenly browned, about 8 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, transfer the fried scallions onto a paper towel.

Reserve a small handful or raw scallion greens for garnish, then fry the remaining scallion greens in the oil until crispy and lightly browned, 3 to 5 minutes.  Transfer  fried scallion greens onto a paper towel.

Remove the skillet from the heat and carefully our the hot scallion oil into a measuring cup.


After the 30 minutes of salting, dry the eggplant segments with a paper towel.  Place the skillet over medium high heat and add 2 tablespoons of the scallion oil.

When the oil shimmers and you see a wisp of smoke, add half the eggplant cut side down.  Fry until browned and starting to soften 2-3 minutes.  Flip once and cook another minute on the other side.  Transfer to a plate, add 2 more tablespoons of scallion oil back to the pan and repeat with net batch of eggplant.  

Finally, sauce the eggplant.  Add the first batch of eggplant back to the pan alongside the second batch.  Reduce heat to medium low and pour the reserved gochjang sauce over the eggplants.  Toss until evenly coated and the gochjang start to caramelize, about 1 minute.

Place the eggplant on a large platter and garnish with the fried scallions and the reserved raw scallion greens.  Serve immediately.  Left overs are great cold or at room temperature.


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