Japanese Eggplant

Know this

Every recipe that tells you to salt eggplant and let it weep for half an hour was written about a globe eggplant. This is not that. Japanese eggplant is bred long and narrow with a thin skin and far fewer seeds, and the bitterness lives in those seeds, so the drain step buys you almost nothing except twenty minutes of standing around. Buy them glossy and tight with a green, slightly prickly cap, and skip anything with a dull or wrinkled patch. The chef secret: press the shoulder with your thumb. If the dent springs straight back the flesh is firm and it will hold its shape in the pan. If the dent stays put, the inside has already started to collapse and it will cook down to baby food no matter how carefully you handle it. That one press tells you more than the price tag does.

Cook

Halve them lengthwise, score the cut face in a shallow diamond, and give them hard dry heat. Grill or broil cut side down until the face is bronzed and the flesh has slumped, about 6 to 8 minutes. Dress them the second they come off, while they are still hot and open, so they drink the sauce instead of sitting in it.

Season

July into September.

Best pairings

Miso · Sesame · Ginger · Scallion · Soy · Chili crisp

Also worth trying: rice vinegar, garlic, basil, tahini, lemon, yogurt, mint, pomegranate molasses, cumin, tomato, feta, pork.

Recommended wine