Korean-Style Steamed Eggplant with Aromatic Onion–Chili Oil

Ingredients (serves 2–3)

Eggplant & Greens

• 500 g eggplants

• 1 handful leafy greens (e.g. spinach, radish leaf etc), blanched, squeezed dry, and roughly chopped

• Lemon(optional topping)

Seasoned Oil

• 2 tbsp fried onion

• 2 tbsp freeze-dried onion (dehydrated onion)

• 1 tsp garlic powder

• 1 tsp chili powder

• ½ tsp brewer’s yeast

• ½ tsp salt

• 3 tbsp rapeseed oil (heated to ~170°C)

• 2 tsp roasted sesame oil

Instructions

1. Steam the Eggplant

• Wash the eggplants and trim the stems.

• If large, cut them lengthwise.

• Steam for about 15 minutes, until soft.

2. Tear into Pieces

• Let the eggplants cool slightly.

• Gently tear them into bite-sized strips using your hands. Set aside.

  
  

3. Prepare the Greens

• Blanch the greens briefly in lightly salted boiling water for about 2 minutes.

• Rinse with cold water, then squeeze out excess moisture.

4. Make the Sesame onion Oil

• Place the fried onion, freeze-dried onion, garlic powder, chili powder, brewer’s yeast, and salt in a heatproof bowl.Mix it well.

  

  Without oil it looks like this.

• Heat the rapeseed oil to about 175°C.

  At an event we recycled some heated oil after frying tofu.

• Carefully pour the hot oil over the dry ingredients — it should sizzle and bloom the aromatics.

• Stir, then mix in some roasted sesame oil.

• Let it cool slightly.

5. Combine

• In a bowl, gently mix the torn eggplant and greens.

• Add about 3 tbsp of the seasoned oil (or to taste).

• Toss carefully so the eggplant stays intact while absorbing the flavors.

  

6. Serve

• Serve at room temperature as a side dish.

• Letting it sit for 5–10 minutes helps the flavors meld.