Grilled eggplant (焼きなす)
Grilled eggplant is one of the popular recipes for cooking eggplants in Japan.
Summary
It is a recipe in which eggplant is grilled over an open flame or on a grill, seasoned with a dash of soy sauce or ponzu soy sauce (soy source containing citrus juice) and garnished with some grated ginger or wasabi (Japanese horseradish).
There are two ways for grilling eggplant, either by grilling the whole piece at once or by slicing it into flat pieces first.
(In case of grilling a whole piece, simply grill it until its skin gets completely charred, and then remove the charred skin before seasoning.)
There are variety of recipes for grilled eggplant depending on a family, by using noodle soup base or sprinkling shaved dried bonito over it before eating, for example.