Edit: made a few changes to the recipe after further experimentation.
Original inspiration: I watched a video (no idea how valid anything in the video was as they didn't cite anything) that claimed that eggplant skin and chia seeds are good for controlling blood sugar levels. Typically, one would bloom chia seeds in water, then put them on something sweet like fruit, but I decided to bloom them in soy sauce.
Japanese or Chinese eggplant is preferred as the skin is thinner, but you can use regular eggplant. Score a hatch pattern along the skin before slicing, and cut the slices into 4 pieces each.
The eggplant is roasted both for flavor and to help it absorb the sauce.
Japanese vegetable sides should be fast and easy so you can focus more effort on other parts of the meal. I tried to keep to the spirit of that.
Ingredients
Two Chinese or Japanese eggplants, cut into thin (¼"–½") slices on the bias
A bit less than ¼ cup chia seeds
â…™ cup soy sauce (maybe a bit less)
â…“ cup aji-mirin (can substitute sherry)
Big pinch of bonito katsuobushi (can substitute bacon crumbles)
1 or 2 knuckles worth of ground fresh ginger
1 or 2 dashes of shichimi togarashi, nanami togarashi, or red pepper flakes
(Optional) 1 tablespoon of good, dark, Japanese or Korean sesame oil
If you cut the eggplant thinner, you get crispier eggplant chips. If you cut them thicker (½"–¾"), then you'll get a soft mushy center to the eggplant.
Some measuring cups don't measure ⅙ cup. No worries. Pour ⅓ cup aji-mirin into your measuring cup, then add enough soy sauce to get you to ½ cup.
Directions
Begin preheating the oven. 375–400℉ for a convection oven, 400℉–425℉ for a non-convection oven.
Combine all but the eggplant and sesame oil in a large bowl for tossing with the eggplant later. Stir and set aside to let the chia seeds bloom.
Slice eggplant on a bias.
Roast in the oven for around 18–20 minutes or until browned.
Near the end of the roasting, check the sauce. If the chia seeds have soaked up all the liquid, add a tablespoon or two of extra soy sauce and/or aji-mirin.
Toss eggplant in the bowl with the sauce from above and serve. Add a splash of sesame oil on the plated dish if desired.