Japanese Marinated Eggplant (Nasu no Nanbanzuke)

Steps

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1. 1
   Slice the onion thinly and place it in a bowl. Remove the root end.
   ▶ ≈1:25
2. 2
   Cut the chili pepper in half, remove the seeds, then slice into rings.
   ▶ ≈1:47
3. 3
   In a small pot, add water, sugar, and dashi powder and bring to a boil. Add soy sauce and vinegar, turn off the heat just before it boils vigorously, and pour the hot sauce over the onion. Mix well.
   ▶ ≈2:03
4. 4
   Remove the stem from the eggplant and cut into bite-sized chunks. Place in a plastic bag, add potato starch, and shake well to coat all the eggplant pieces evenly.
   ▶ ≈2:52
5. 5
   Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat for about 1 minute. Place the eggplant pieces skin-side down and pan-fry.
   ▶ ≈3:33
6. 6
   After about 1.5 minutes, flip the eggplant. Continue to turn the pieces occasionally on medium heat until cooked through, about 5 minutes total.
   ▶ ≈4:03
7. 7
   Transfer the hot cooked eggplant to the bowl with the sauce, add the chili pepper rings, and mix well to coat all the eggplant pieces thoroughly.
   ▶ ≈5:13
8. 8
   Transfer the mixture to a storage container, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for about 1 hour.
   ▶ ≈5:52
9. 9
   After 1 hour, remove from the refrigerator and mix once more. The potato starch will have blended with the sauce to create a thickened consistency. Ready to serve.
   ▶ ≈6:16