Sesame, Eggplant and Noodle Salad
I bet if you asked anyone who came to our place for lunch in the 90s, they would remember this dish. I rediscovered it some years ago after searching through my messy and huge unfiled random recipe file. I’m not sure if I should say ’embarrassingly’ or rather just ‘ironically’, this outstanding recipe came from a Kikkoman ad in a magazine – I think it must have been my first foray into ‘Asian’ cooking long, long ago. But guess what’s back on the menu now?
Sesame, Eggplant and Noodle Salad
Ingredients
- 80 ml dark sesame oil (1/3 cup)
- 40 ml vegetable oil (2 tablespoons)
- 125 ml teriyaki sauce (1/2 cup) Kikkoman of course!
- 40 ml light soy sauce (2 tablespoons) Kikkoman of course!
- 40 ml red wine vinegar (2 tablespoons)
- 80 g sugar (1/3 cup)
- 1 birds eye chilli sliced finely
- 2 cloves garlic crushed
- 2 large eggplant (aubergine)
- 250 g fine egg noodles (8oz)
- 6 whole green spring onions (shallots) sliced
- 1/4 cup sesame seeds toasted
- 1 pinch chili for garnish
Instructions
- Combine all the dressing ingredients, stirring well to dissolve the sugar.
- Slice the eggplant into 1 cm slices. Line a large baking tray with aluminium foil.
- Brush the eggplant with the dressing on both sides. Cook under the grill (broiler) for about 10 minutes, basting often and turning when golden. Remove, cut into halves or thirds and toss with the remaining dressing.
- In the mean time, cook the noodles according to packet instructions. Drain, rinse and drain well.
- Toss the noodles, green spring onions and sesame with the eggplant. Garnish with green onion and sliced red chilli if desired.
