The Ultimate Ground Chicken & Eggplant Recipe Perfected After 100 Trials

Overview

A 10-minute recipe for "Melty Eggplant with Meat Miso Sauce" using only 200g of ground chicken and 3 eggplants. The key lies in prepping both the eggplant and ground chicken with baking soda. By alkalizing the eggplant before microwaving, it achieves an incredibly melt-in-your-mouth texture, which then absorbs rich flavors from a chilled marinade containing pickled plum (umeboshi). To prevent the ground chicken from drying out, this unique method avoids salt, oil, and direct searing; instead, the miso sauce is heated first before adding the meat. Perfected after 100 trials, this budget-friendly, quick, and diet-friendly dish is topped with bonito flakes, making it the ultimate summer side dish.

Key Tips

• Eggplant Prep
  • Soaking the eggplants in baking soda water (300ml water + 2g baking soda) for 5 minutes alkalizes them, bringing out an incredibly melt-in-your-mouth texture when microwaved.
• Eggplant Prep
  • Cutting the microwaved eggplants while hot and placing them in the ice-chilled marinade with plastic wrap pressed directly on top (creating a 'sauna effect') allows the flavors to absorb deeply.
• Eggplant Prep
  • Cut the eggplant stems as close to the top as possible and slice lengthwise in half. Place them skin-side down when marinating.
• Chicken Prep
  • Do not salt the ground chicken. Instead, sprinkle sugar and baking soda (1g per side) on both sides, sandwich with paper towels, and place a weight on top for 3 minutes to drain excess moisture.
• Chicken Prep
  • Do not grease the pan with oil. Avoid searing the meat directly.
• Heat & Cooking
  • Heat the pan over medium heat and warm only the meat miso sauce first (just enough to avoid scum) before adding the ground chicken to prevent it from drying out.
• Heat & Cooking
  • Once the pink color of the meat disappears, switch to residual heat cooking to avoid overcooking.
• Marinade
  • Adding a crushed pickled plum to the marinade adds flavor and acidity. Chilling it beforehand leverages the temperature difference with the hot eggplant to rapidly infuse the flavors.

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• 3eggplants
• 200gground chicken
• [EggplantPrep] 300ml water
• [EggplantPrep] 2g baking soda
• [GroundChicken Prep] Sugar to taste (about a pinch per side)
• [GroundChicken Prep] 2g baking soda (1g per side)
• [MeatMiso Sauce] 2 tbsp sake
• [MeatMiso Sauce] 2 tbsp mirin
• [MeatMiso Sauce] 1 tbsp sugar
• [MeatMiso Sauce] 1.5 tbsp miso
• [MeatMiso Sauce] 1 tsp kelp tea powder (kombucha)
• [EggplantMarinade] 100ml water
• [EggplantMarinade] 100ml noodle soup base (tsuyu)
• [EggplantMarinade] 3 pinches kelp tea powder (kombucha)
• [EggplantMarinade] 1/2 tsp sugar
• [EggplantMarinade] 1 tsp soy sauce
• [EggplantMarinade] 1 pickled plum (umeboshi)
• [Garnish]Bonito flakes to taste

Instructions

1. 1

   Cut off the stems of the eggplants as close to the top as possible, slice them in half lengthwise, and place them in a Ziploc bag.

2. 2

   Dissolve 2g of baking soda in 300ml of water to make baking soda water, pour it into the Ziploc bag, and soak the eggplants for about 5 minutes.

3. 3

   Sprinkle sugar and baking soda (1g of baking soda per side) on both sides of the ground chicken. Sandwich it between paper towels, place a weight on top, and let it sit for about 3 minutes to drain excess moisture.

4. 4

   In a bowl, combine 100ml water, 100ml noodle soup base, 3 pinches of kelp tea powder, 1/2 tsp sugar, and 1 tsp soy sauce. Add 1 pickled plum, crush it slightly to make the eggplant marinade, and chill it with ice.

5. 5

   Mix 2 tbsp sake, 2 tbsp mirin, 1 tbsp sugar, 1.5 tbsp miso, and 1 tsp kelp tea powder to make the meat miso sauce.

6. 6

   Remove the eggplants from the Ziploc bag and gently pat dry. Wrap them in plastic wrap and microwave at 600W for 3 minutes.

7. 7

   While the microwaved eggplants are still hot, cut them in half lengthwise again (into quarters). Place them skin-side down into the ice-chilled marinade, and cover with plastic wrap pressed directly onto the surface to let the flavors absorb.

8. 8

   Remove the paper towels from the ground chicken.

9. 9

   Heat a frying pan over medium heat (do not add oil), pour in the meat miso sauce, and heat gently just enough to prevent scum from forming.

10. 10

    Once the sauce is warm, add the ground chicken and stir-fry while coating it with the sauce until the meat is no longer pink. Once the pink color is gone, turn off the heat and let it cook through with residual heat.

11. 11

    Remove the eggplants from the marinade, arrange them on a plate, and generously spoon the meat miso sauce over them.

12. 12

    Garnish with bonito flakes to taste and serve.

About 予約7年待ち「肉の鬼才」森田隼人の料理研究所

予約7年待ち「肉の鬼才」森田隼人の料理研究所

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