Japanese Fried Chicken, Japanese Eggplant and Strawberries and Pound Cake.

Went to the farmers market and one of them had  Japanese eggplant so I planned tonight dinner around that.

Japanese Fried chicken

Ingredients

1 pound chicken thighsboneless, skin-on cut into 1 in. pieces

1 tablespoon ginger grated

1 clove garlic  grated

2 tablespoons soy sauce  use tamari to make it gluten-free

1 tablespoon sake 

2 teaspoons granulated sugar 

1/3 cup potato starch
vegetable oil for frying 

lemon for serving

Instructions

Add the ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sake and sugar to a bowl and whisk to combine. Add the chicken, then stir to coat evenly. Cover and refrigerate for at least 1 hour. 

coat chicken with potato starch and fry in vegetable oil

Grilled Japanese Eggplant

2 tablespoons soy sauce

4 teaspoons lemon juice

2 teaspoons olive oil

4 Japanese eggplants (about 1 pound)

1/4 cup katsuobushi, dried, shaved bonito flakes (a type of tuna), optional

Whisk together the soy sauce, lemon juice, and olive oil in a bowl to make the dressing; set aside. Score the stem end of each eggplant, making a circular cut in the skin (this will make the eggplant easier to peel). Poke a few holes into the eggplants with a skewer or fork to allow steam to escape as they grill.

Preheat a grill to medium. Grill for about 8 minutes, turning the eggplants a quarter turn every 2 minutes. Try to grill the eggplant all around. Test the eggplants for doneness by pressing against their sides with a pair of tongs. If the eggplants give easily, they're ready. Transfer the eggplants to a plate.

As soon as the eggplants are cool enough to handle, carefully peel off the skin (the skin comes off more easily if the eggplant is warm; don't let it cool completely). Once you've removed the skin, remove the stems, and slice each eggplant into 4 pieces, cutting on an angle. Transfer the eggplant slices to a platter. Drizzle with dressing, sprinkle with the bonito, and serve.