Fruiting vegetables
Dried EggplantRounds and Wedges: Drying Time, Soaking, Storage and a Recipe
Dried eggplant loses its water and gains flavor, and it soaks up seasonings like a sponge. In simmered dishes and stir-fries, it absorbs more flavor than fresh eggplant and becomes almost meaty.
We dried slim Japanese eggplants. Chinese or Asian eggplants are similar; larger globe eggplants work too if you cut them to the same thickness. Dry and eat it with the skin on.
| Drying time | Storage | |
|---|---|---|
| Dry | 2–3 days | 3 weeks at room temperature (fridge in humid summer) |
| Semi-dried | Half a day | 5 days in the fridge |
Drying times assume drying during the day in sunny weather and bringing them in at night.
How to dry eggplant
- Cut: Trim the stem end and slice into 1 cm (⅜ in) rounds. For lengthwise wedges, cut into 6–8 pieces lengthwise depending on size.
- Soak: Soak for 15 minutes in fairly strong salt water (about 1 tsp salt in 500 ml / 2 cups water). This removes bitterness and limits discoloring while drying.
- Pat dry: Wipe thoroughly dry with paper towels. Leftover water slows drying and can lead to mold.
- Lay out and dry: Spread on a basket without overlapping, somewhere sunny and breezy. Turn about once a day and bring in by evening.
Where and when to dry is covered in How to Dry Vegetables, and tools in Tools for Drying Vegetables.
Rounds
Dry (2–3 days)
It’s done when the rounds have shrunk and turned brown, have no give when pressed, and snap when bent. The thick center dries last, so check there.
Semi-dried (half a day)
The surface is dry and the rounds are limp. Use them without soaking in stir-fries or agebitashi (fried and soaked in broth). They also soak up less oil.
Day by day
Before drying
Day 1
Day 2
Lengthwise wedges
Cut lengthwise into 6–8 pieces. Long strips with the skin on make a hearty ingredient in simmered dishes and stir-fries once rehydrated. Like the rounds, ours were dry in about 2 days.
Semi-dried
Day by day
Before drying
Day 1
Day 2
Storage
- Dry: Put completely dry eggplant in a bag or airtight container with a desiccant, and keep somewhere cool and out of direct sun for about 3 weeks. In humid summer weather, keep it in the fridge.
- Semi-dried: Keep in a bag in the fridge and use within about 5 days.
- Frozen: Both dry and semi-dried can be frozen for 1–2 months.
Fuzzy white or green growth, black spots or a bad smell are signs of mold or spoilage. Don’t eat it; throw it away. More in How to Store Dried Vegetables.
Rehydrating and using it
- Rehydrate: Soak dry eggplant in water for about 10 minutes. If you like, blanch it briefly to remove any harshness.
- Use it dry: Rinse and add straight to miso soup, soups, curry and simmered dishes. It soaks up the broth and absorbs the flavor well.
- Good in: Agebitashi, mapo eggplant, keema curry, miso stir-fry, nibitashi (simmered in light broth).
Recipe
Dried eggplant and king oyster mushroom stir-fried with gochujang
- Dried eggplant from 1 eggplant
- Dried king oyster mushrooms from 2 mushrooms
- A: 1 tsp gochujang, 1 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp mirin, 1 tbsp sake
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- Ground sesame seeds, to taste
- Dried green shiso (optional)
- Soak the dried eggplant in water for 10 minutes, blanch briefly and pat dry. Soak the dried king oyster mushrooms in water for 10 minutes and pat dry.
- Heat the sesame oil in a frying pan and stir-fry step 1. When everything is coated in oil, add A and cook until most of the liquid is gone.
- Turn off the heat, toss with ground sesame, and sprinkle with dried green shiso.
Dried king oyster mushrooms and dried green shiso are handy to keep on hand too.
