Modu Recipes

Striker Chef's Vegan Eggplant Donburi

A hearty vegan one-bowl meal featuring eggplant, tenderly steamed in the microwave, coated in starch, pan-fried until savory, and served with a refreshing lime sauce.

🙋 Recommended for

  • ⭐ Those who usually dislike eggplant due to its texture or flavor.
  • ⭐ Those who want a sophisticated, restaurant-style one-bowl meal without spending a lot of time cooking in hot weather.
  • ⭐ Those looking for a healthy yet incredibly flavorful vegan meal.

Ingredients needed 🛒1 servings

  • Eggplant 2
  • Tamari soy sauce (or regular soy sauce) 2 tbsp
  • Palm sugar (or coconut sugar) 1 tbsp
  • Mirin 1 tbsp
  • Lime 1
  • Vegan coin broth 1 cube
  • Potato starch appropriate amount
  • Sesame oil appropriate amount
  • Grain rice (or instant rice) 1 bowl
  • Gim flakes 1 handful
  • Chives appropriate amount
  • Salt a little
  • Pepper a little
  • Gochu bugak/peanuts/toasted barley (optional garnish)

Recipe 🍳

  1. Use a peeler to remove all the skin from the eggplant. Score the thicker parts to help the sauce penetrate.
  2. Cover the peeled eggplant with plastic wrap and microwave for 3 minutes to steam.
  3. In a sauce bowl, combine tamari soy sauce, palm sugar, and mirin. Squeeze in the juice from 1/4 lime.
  4. Crush 1 vegan coin broth cube into a powder and add it to the sauce, mixing well.
  5. Take the steamed eggplant out of the microwave, gently flatten it with the back of a knife, pat the surface dry with paper towels, and season the inside with salt and pepper.
  6. Spread potato starch on a plate and coat the outside of the eggplant thinly and evenly with the starch.
  7. Heat sesame oil in a pan over medium heat. Pan-fry the starch-coated eggplant until golden brown, then pour in the prepared sauce and simmer for about 5 seconds using residual heat.
  8. In a bowl, mix rice with 1 handful of gim flakes. Top with the simmered eggplant, arranging it like a blanket, and drizzle with the remaining sauce from the pan.
  9. Grate the zest from the remaining lime over the entire dish. Garnish with chopped chives and, if desired, gochu bugak, crushed peanuts, or toasted barley.
  1. Peel the eggplant, score it, and microwave for 3 minutes until cooked.
  2. Mix soy sauce, palm sugar, mirin, lime juice, and crushed vegan coin broth to make the sauce.
  3. Flatten the steamed eggplant, pat dry, season, and coat thinly with potato starch.
  4. Heat sesame oil in a pan, fry the eggplant, then add sauce and lightly simmer.
  5. Mix rice with gim flakes, top with the fried eggplant, and garnish with lime zest, chives, and toppings.

Cooking tips 💡

  • Completely peeling the eggplant makes it less tough and results in a smoother texture for the donburi.
  • Dissolving the vegan coin broth into the sauce without heating allows for a deep umami flavor as if it had been simmered for a long time.
  • A final drizzle of sesame oil can enhance the flavor.
  • Adding crunchy toppings like toasted barley, peanuts, or gochu bugak on top of the soft eggplant creates a delightful textural contrast.

Shop ingredients on Coupang(Ad)

EggplantTamari soy saucePalm sugarMirinLimeVegan coin brothPotato starchSesame oilGrain riceGim flakesChives
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