Steps

1. Trim the ends of 2 eggplants using a pencil-sharpening technique.
   🕒 00:57
2. Cut the eggplants into elongated, irregular pieces.
   🕒 01:21
3. Heat 2 tbsp of vegetable oil in a frying pan.
   🕒 01:34
4. Add the irregularly cut eggplants to the frying pan and coat them with oil. [Key Tip!] Since the cut eggplants will be cooked immediately, do not soak them in water. If you are concerned, you can soak them to remove bitterness.
   🕒 01:52
5. Place the eggplants cut-side down and grill until golden brown. [Key Tip!] Do not add more oil even if it absorbs all of it, as this will make it greasy. Grilling the skin side down until moisture is released will result in a beautiful skin.
   🕒 02:18
6. Grill the other side of the eggplants until they have a tender texture.
   🕒 03:03
7. After grilling, blot away excess oil and moisture from the eggplants with a paper towel. [Key Tip!] Excess oil can prevent the seasonings from adhering well and hinder flavor penetration, so be sure to wipe it off thoroughly.
   🕒 03:22
8. In a bowl, combine 100ml of water, 1.5 tbsp of soy sauce, 1.5 tbsp of mirin (sweet rice wine), 1 tsp of sugar, and 1 tsp of potato starch. Mix well to create the sauce mixture. [Key Tip!] Mixing the potato starch with water at this stage prevents hassle later.
   🕒 03:38
9. Add 2g of bonito flakes (katsuobushi) to the sauce mixture and stir. [Key Tip!] Simmering with bonito flakes allows you to extract dashi from them, making it a two-birds-one-stone approach.
   🕒 04:06
10. Pour the sauce and bonito flake mixture into the frying pan with the oil-blotted eggplants.
    🕒 04:30
11. Simmer until the eggplants absorb the flavors, while extracting dashi from the bonito flakes.
    🕒 04:46
12. Grate 150-200g of daikon radish, including the skin, in a circular motion. [Key Tip!] The spiciness of summer daikon radish adds a pleasant accent to the mitsure-ni (grated daikon radish glaze).
    🕒 04:55
13. Add the lightly squeezed grated daikon radish to the reduced eggplant mixture.
    🕒 05:17
14. Mix gently and simmer briefly to finish.
    🕒 05:35
15. Transfer to a serving dish.
    🕒 05:47
16. Garnish with a suitable amount of grated ginger and finely chopped green onions.
    🕒 06:05