This is a relatively quick dinner, very tasty, vegan-Japanese.
Who doesn’t like eggplant? This is braised with no oil, flavored with leeks, tamari, and kombu (a savory, nutritious Japanese sea vegetable).
Start with a half inch of water in the pan, add the (cut-up) kombu and veggies, and simmer until the rice is done.
What rice, you ask? This is our favorite Japanese Dirty Rice… a hybrid recipe, featuring Japanese elements not usually cooked into rice together.
Ingredients include a half-cup of rice (2 cups water), dried shiitake mushrooms broken into bits, a teaspoon of hijiki seaweed, a few strands of safforn, and an eight teaspoon of wasabi powder. Combine all ingredients in a rice cooker and turn it on… and use it as a timer for the simmering eggplant.
I like natto (fermented soy beans), for its savory taste and unique nutritional characteristics, although some find it challenging. It’s slimy…but worth getting used to.
Also pictured: nori strips.
