Eggplants Shōjin

What are you thinking while you are cooking? Some of my friends play rock at full volume, others classical music… in fact, none of them listen to the music. It is the effect of concentration and also one of its benefits. Focusing on the step-by-step involved in cooking a dish produces a kind of absorption (knife cutting,  tasting , adjusting the fire). Cooking lovers say that it takes away their stress, it relaxes them, even that, for a while, it allows them to escape from the myriad of daily troubles. In fact, several prestigious medical centers already include cooking sessions as part of their therapies. Perhaps the most notable case is the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston.

Quite Zen, indeed. As we are going to recreate a traditional Shōjin Cuisine recipe, given the great interest in our previous post: Zucchini Shōjin. This time, instead of exploring the Zen principles that underlie Shōjin, we are going to delve into its technical details.

A cooking session can have a mental cleansing effect. Our attention goes to the details of the execution… not to the music… Today’s eggplant recipe is a great example, because its technique, quite simple on the other hand, requires attention to small details. Eggplant with Shiitakes is a traditional dish from the kitchen of Zen temples in Japan. Its essence: vegetable ingredients, very gentle cooking and enhancement of the flavors and textures of each ingredient.

To enjoy the benefits of cooking, we must focus our attention on five key moments:

Prepare the ingredients. Cut the green stems of the eggplants pods, cut the stemmed ends of the green beans, remove the shiitakes feet. Thoroughly wash beans and eggplants, wipe mushrooms with a damp cloth. Let vegetables drain.

Cut with precision. Cut eggplants, first in half, lengthwise and then in quarters. If they are long, cut each quarter in two at a 45 degree angle. All pieces should be a similar size and shape. Cut the green beans at an angle into 3-4 inch pieces. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.

Monitor cooking. Check when steam is ready to introduce the vegetables. After 7 minutes, check the texture with a skewer and leave or remove from heat. After 10 minutes check that mushrooms are well cooked and remove.

Adjust the flavors. Check that broth has thickened evenly. Taste and adjust salt. Check that all the elements in the dish are hot.

Plate and serve. Carefully place the aubergines on the serving dish. Distribute mushrooms and green beans. Glaze each piece with the cooking sauce. Decorate with sesame seeds.

This step-by-step is applicable to most recipes and simply illustrates the importance of attention when cooking. In the recipe below you can read the complete details of the elaboration.

The result is a light vegetable dish with their individual flavors intact. The creamy texture of eggplants contrasts with the al dente of green beans and the delicate bite of mushrooms. Barely seasoned, the mild sauce accompanying the dish rounds it off with sesame aromas and the pungency of tamari. It is an ideal dish to side with brown rice made like in our Venere Rice recipe.

In Zen painting it is essential to find the balance between the full (the painted part of the painting) and the empty (unpainted canvas). In Shōjin Cuisine we need a harmony of flavors and textures and to achieve it, while we cook we seek a balance between discipline and abandon. Enjoy!

Eggplants Shōjin

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

40 mins

 

Author: TQC

Serves: 2

Ingredients

• 2 medium sized eggplants (6-7 inch long)
• 100 g flat green beans
• 100 g fresh shiitake mushrooms
• 1 tablespoon Tamari
• 1 tablespoon panela sugar
• 1 piece of dried kombu seaweed (2 x 2 inch)
• 1 tablespoon sesame paste (tahini)
• 400 ml mineral water
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• Roasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. From cold water, without lid, cook the kombu seaweed in water and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to minimum and cook for 15 minutes. Remove the seaweed and reserve for another preparation. Add mushrooms and cook over medium heat until tender. Reserve the broth and mushrooms separately.
2. Wash well and remove the green stems from eggplants and green beans. Cut eggplants lengthwise in half. Repeat the cut to obtain four quarters of each eggplant. Cut the green beans at an angle into 3-4 inch pieces. Cut each piece in half lengthwise.
3. Place the vegetables in a steamer and cook for 10 minutes or until you can cleanly prick them with a skewer.
4. In a flat pan mix the reserved broth with sugar, tamari and salt. Bring to a boil, add eggplants and mushrooms and cook over low heat for five minutes. Take out a laddle of cooking liquid and mix it with the tablespoon of tahini. When it is well dissolved, add it to the pan with gentle movements not to break the aubergines. Place green beans on top, turn off the heat and cover to keep it evenly warm.
5. Plate, glaze vegetables with the cooking sauce and decorate with roasted sesame seeds.

Culinary Tips

The size of the eggplant pieces is very important (see the photo). If the eggplants are long or very large, cut them in half or make eight pieces of each.

Texture of each vegetable is key in this dish. Check the texture after 7-8 minutes and remove teggplants if they are nearly done. In the same way, leave the beans a little more than the approximate 10 minutes if they are still hard.

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