Eggplant Soup with Miso & Chili
Eggplant is one of those less famous vegetables that comes back into its element in spring. Or possibly you didn’t even know it had left, or thanks to our ever shrinking planet maybe it never did leave.
If that is the case, you may ask why should I celebrate this vegetable at this time of year? Well trust me, everything tastes better when you make it in season using locally grown produce rather than produce that has flown economy-class from a far off place.
With its distinctive smoky flavor, the miso in the background and the slightest chili kick, this eggplant soup is a perfect way to celebrate the return of good eggplant to your local market. Plus it is a pretty simple recipe and an easy way to show off!
Enjoy this delicious eggplant soup with miso and chili.
Tip: for the vegetarian version of this soup, simply replace the chicken stock with a vegetable stock.
Eggplant Soup with Miso and Chili
Ingredients
- 300 grams onion finely diced, approx. 2 medium onions
- 1 tablespoon ginger peeled, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons garlic
- 2 medium eggplant about 500 grams (1 lb) each, peeled, cut into large chunks
- 2 red birds eye chillis
- 125 milliliters vegetable oil
- 60 milliliters mirin
- 1 liter chicken stock if using store bought stock, use a low salt variety.
- 500 milliliters water
- 1/2 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons red miso paste
- sesame oil
Instructions
- Cut chillies in half and rinse out seeds and membrane under running water. Chop chilly skins finely.
- In a large saucepan or stockpot, heat the vegetable oil on high heat.
- Sauté the onion until translucent, stirring regularly, (about 4 minutes).
- Add the garlic and ginger and cook for a further 1 minute.
- Add the eggplant and continue to cook, stirring continuously until the pot is dry and the eggplant starting to colour and soften.
- Deglaze the pot with the mirin.
- Add the stock and water.
- Stir in the brown sugar and miso paste.
- Bring to the boil; reduce heat to a low simmer and cook for 2 hours.
- Remove from the heat and allow the soup to cool slightly.
- Transfer to a food processor or use a hand held stick blender, process the soup until smooth.
- Return to heat to warm up.
- Taste for seasoning and adjust as required. More miso may be added if desired.
- Garnish each serving of soup with a small drizzle of sesame oil, no more than ¼ tsp will be required.
Notes
Check this page for more delicious vegetarian eggplant recipes.
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