Aubergine Steak with Smoked Tofu & Maitake Topping

Here's a simple and delicious Japanese side dish, guaranteed to impress your guests.

Ingredients

• 1 large aubergine
• 20g Clearspring Dried Maitake Mushrooms
• 120g smoked tofu
• 80g sugar snap peas
• 2½ tbsp Clearspring Sweet White Miso
• 2 tbsp Clearspring Shoyu Soy Sauce
• 2 tbsp Clearspring Mikawa Mirin
• 1 tbsp Clearspring Rice Malt Syrup
• 1 tsp Clearspring Brown Rice Vinegar
• 1 tsp grated ginger
• 3 tbsp water
• 2 tbsp black & white sesame seeds

Method

1. Soak Maiitake mushrooms in water for about 2 hours. Squeeze water out.
2. Slice aubergine into four lengthways  to get large flat steak shape. Cut off the both end of the skin to make the end slices flat end. This makes it easier to fry the aubergine in the frying pan.
3. Heat a large frying pan with 2 tbsp of vegetable oil with medium heat. Once the pan is hot, lay sliced aubergines into the pan. Lower the heat and cook for about 6-7 minutes, depending on the thickness of the aubergines. Then turn them over and cook further 4-5 minutes.
4. While cooking aubergines, slice sugar snap peas thinly sideways. Cut smoked tofu into small cubes.
5. Add miso, soy sauce, mirin, malt syrup, vinegar, water and grated ginger and mix them well. Keep it aside.
6. In a separate pan, heat up with a little vegetable oil and then add sugar snap peas and maitake and fry them for two minutes. Add smoked tofu and cook further one minutes, then turn up the heat and add the sauce mixture. Cook with high heat for one minute, and then turn off the heat.
7. Lay the aubergines in individual plates. Place the mushroom and tofu mixture on top of the aubergines and sprinkle black & white sesame seeds.

Chef

Reiko Hashimoto

Reiko was born in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan. She grew up in a traditional Japanese family with a food-fanatic mother, who has shaped her love of Japanese cooking today.

London has been Reiko's home for the last 14 years and she runs Hashi Cooking, a Japanese cookery school, from her home in Wimbledon.  Reiko offers classes and courses  for absolute beginners, right through to professional chefs.  Reiko's philosophy is to make authentic Japanese cookery accessible to all.

In 2011, Reiko released her first cookbook - 'Hashi, A Japanese Cookery Course', based on many of the recipes from her courses.  The book has been a great success amongst beginners and professional chefs and she is in the process of writing a second.

Reiko has also appeared in the media, featuring on programmes such as Good Food Live and The Great British Kitchen, working with notable chefs John Torode, Gino D'Acampo and Hardeep Singh Kholi.

www.hashicooking.co.uk