Steps

1. Trim the ends off the eggplants.
   🕒 01:37
2. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise.
   🕒 01:43
3. Lightly score the surface of the eggplant halves. The key here! Scoring allows the eggplant to cook through faster and absorb more flavor.
   🕒 01:46
4. In a bowl, mix water with 1 tsp salt to create a salt brine.
   🕒 02:08
5. Soak the cut eggplants in the salt brine for about 5 minutes to remove bitterness. The key here! Soaking in salt water helps to easily draw out bitterness and also prevents the eggplant from absorbing too much oil.
   🕒 02:19
6. Peel the ginger.
   🕒 02:53
7. Cut the garlic in half and remove the sprout. The key here! The sprout can cause bitterness, so be sure to remove it.
   🕒 02:59
8. Grate the ginger and mince the garlic.
   🕒 03:13
9. In a small bowl, combine the grated ginger, minced garlic, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin (sweet rice wine), 2 tsp sugar, 1 tbsp cooking sake (rice wine), and 1 tsp vinegar. Mix well to create the sauce. The key here! Mix thoroughly until the sugar granules are no longer visible.
   🕒 03:27
10. Drain the eggplants from the salt brine and pat them thoroughly dry with paper towels.
    🕒 03:46
11. Heat 1.5 tbsp sesame oil in a frying pan and coat the eggplant pieces with the oil. The key here! Coating the eggplant with oil beforehand prevents it from absorbing too much excess oil, allowing it to cook with less oil. Make sure to coat the skin side well with oil, then place them skin-side down.
    🕒 04:02
12. Place the eggplant skin-side down and cook over medium heat for about 2 minutes. The key here! Starting with the skin side helps to prevent the eggplant skin from losing its color.
    🕒 04:37
13. Flip the eggplants and cook the other side over medium heat for 1.5 to 2 minutes.
    🕒 04:47
14. Pour the prepared sauce over the eggplants and let it simmer to coat. The key here! Be careful of splattering sauce which can cause burns.
    🕒 05:09
15. Simmer over medium-low heat for about 2 minutes. If the sauce dries out, add a small amount of water to adjust.
    🕒 05:22
16. Flip the eggplants once more to allow the sauce to soak into the skin side.
    🕒 05:33
17. Swirl the pan occasionally and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated. The key here! Cook until almost all the liquid has evaporated.
    🕒 05:48
18. Transfer to a serving dish and enjoy!
    🕒 06:12