Summer Vegetable Yakibitashi, Made with FlareLine “KASUMI GLOW”

Aubergine, okra, green pepper, cherry tomatoes. The vegetables piled up in the shops in August, shallow-fried and then sunk into a cold steeping broth. That is the whole dish. The moment that matters is not the temperature of the oil but when you move them across. Take each piece into the broth while it is still hot, straight off the heat, and the vegetables draw the broth in as they cool. Thirty minutes in the fridge, and all that is left is to plate it.

The shake at the end is FlareLine “KASUMI GLOW”. The savour of ground shiitake and kombu sits directly on top of the dashi in the broth, and the aroma of Okuhida highland red sanshō and ajwain rises off the cold aubergine. The habanero heat only comes gently, at the end, so serve the children’s portions first and shake it over the adults’ plates. On a day when you want to push it towards citrus, use FlareLine “CITRUS EMBER” instead — makrut lime and lemon peel brighten the outline of the broth. Either one on its own will make the dish.

Time needed: about 40 minutes (including 30 minutes chilling in the fridge)

Ingredients (serves 4)

• FlareLine “KASUMI GLOW”, or FlareLine “CITRUS EMBER”: 1/2 tsp (about 1.5 g)
• Aubergines: 3
• Okra: 8
• Green peppers: 3
• Cherry tomatoes: 8
• Myōga (Japanese ginger buds): 2
• Shiso leaves: 4
• Water: 300 ml
• Shirodashi (a light dashi-based seasoning): 3 tbsp
• Soy sauce: 1 tbsp
• Mirin (sweet rice seasoning): 1 tbsp
• Vinegar: 2 tsp
• Rice bran oil: 4 tbsp (for shallow-frying)

Preparation

1. Put 300 ml of water, 3 tbsp of shirodashi, 1 tbsp of soy sauce and 1 tbsp of mirin into a pan over a medium heat, bring it to the boil once, then take it off the heat. Add 2 tsp of vinegar, pour it into a shallow tray and leave it to cool.
2. Cut the stalk ends off the aubergines and halve them lengthways. Score the skin diagonally 3 or 4 times, then cut each piece in half across. Do not soak them in water. Water taken up by the flesh is what makes the oil spit when you fry them.
3. Pare thinly around the cap of the okra and make one cut into each pod with a knife. Without that cut, they burst as they cook.
4. Halve the green peppers lengthways and remove the seeds and pith. Take the stalks off the cherry tomatoes and pierce each one once with a bamboo skewer.
5. Halve the myōga lengthways and slice them thinly, shred the shiso leaves, and put both in the fridge.

Method

1. Put 4 tbsp of rice bran oil into a frying pan over a medium heat, lay the aubergine in skin side down and shallow-fry for about 3 minutes. Turn and cook for 2 minutes more, until the pieces have softened through.
2. As each piece of aubergine is done, move it into the tray of cooled steeping broth. Moved across while hot, they draw the broth in as they cool.
3. Add the green pepper and okra to the empty pan and cook for about 2 minutes, rolling them as they go, then move them into the broth in the same way.
4. Last, add the cherry tomatoes and roll them for about 30 seconds, until just before the skins split, then move them into the broth.
5. Press cling film onto the surface in the tray and chill in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.
6. Serve the vegetables and the broth into bowls and top with the myōga and shiso. Finish with 1/2 tsp of FlareLine “KASUMI GLOW” shaken over, and it is ready.