Ginger Soy Eggplant

I keep meaning to try grilling eggplant. Last week, I found this recipe in my mom's cookbook and got a gift of three Japanese eggplants from our neighbor's garden (thanks, Brother Jones!). So, I decided to try it out. I love how this eggplant is a little sweet, a great vegetarian option as either a sandwich filler or on its own with rice.

Ginger-Soy Eggplant
Williams-Sonoma Grilling Essentials

1 large globe eggplant (1 1/2 lb), peeled and cut crosswise in 1/2 inch slices or 3 Japanese eggplants

Ginger Soy Marinade

1/3 cup soy sauce
2 T mirin (Japanese cooking wine) or sherry
2 T rice vinegar
1 clove garlic minced
2 t peeled and minced fresh ginger
2 t sugar
freshly ground pepper

Choppes fresh flat-leaf parsley for garnish

Lightly salt eggplant slices on both sides and lay them in a single layer on paper towels. Let stand for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry. This is to leech out the bitterness in eggplant that has been sitting around for a while. There's no need to salt eggplant if you're lucky enough to have fresh eggplant from a garden.

Mix marinade in a wide, shallow, nonreactive bowl. Place eggplants in marinade and coat each slice. Let stand in marinade at room temperature for 1 hour, turning once. I accidentally marinaded these for 24 hours (23 in the fridge) and liked that it seemed to absorb the marinade more during that time. Drain and pat dry with paper towels. Um, I forgot to do this. I took them straight out of the bowl and put them on the grill.

Grill eggplant slices turning once until soft when pierced with a knife, 5-8 minutes per side.

Arrange eggplant slices on warmed serving plate, sprinkle with parsley (I'll try cilantro next time) and serve hot or room temperature.