Soy-Glazed Eggplant Donburi

1. Before You Start: Gather all the ingredients. For the steamed rice, please note that 1½ cups (300 g, 2 rice cooker cups) of uncooked Japanese short-grain rice yield 4⅓ cups (660 g) of cooked rice, enough for 2 donburi servings (3⅓ cups, 500 g). See how to cook short-grain rice with a rice cooker, pot over the stove, Instant Pot, or donabe.
2. Slice 2 Japanese or Chinese eggplants lengthwise into ¼-inch slices. Then, sprinkle with ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt. Set aside for 15 minutes, then wipe off the moisture with a paper towel.
3. Rinse 10 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) and pat dry with a paper towel. Cut off and discard the stems.
4. Roll up the shiso leaves and cut them into chiffonade strips.
5. Peel the ginger skin and grate the ginger (I use a ceramic grater). Then, measure 1 tsp ginger (grated, with juice) and set aside.
6. Put 2 Tbsp potato starch or cornstarch in a small tray. Then, thinly coat both sides of the eggplant slices with the potato starch.

To Cook

1. Heat a frying pan over medium heat. When the pan is hot, add 2 Tbsp of the 4 Tbsp neutral oil and distribute it in the pan. Then, add the eggplant slices in a single layer. Cook until the bottom side is golden brown, about 3–4 minutes. Until then, do not touch the eggplants in order to achieve a nice sear.
2. When the bottom side is nicely seared, drizzle another 2 Tbsp of the oil on top of the eggplant and flip the slices to cook the other side for an additional 3–4 minutes.
3. Once the second side is cooked to a golden brown color, reduce the heat to medium low. Add 4 Tbsp mirin, 2 Tbsp soy sauce, and grated ginger.
4. Bring it back to a simmer and spoon the sauce over the eggplant a few times. If the sauce thickens too fast (due to the potato starch), add 1 Tbsp water at a time to loosen it a bit. Remove from the heat when the eggplant is well-coated with the sauce.

To Serve

1. In individual donburi bowls (a bit bigger than rice bowls), divide the 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice and drizzle some sauce on top of the rice.
2. Then, place the eggplant slices on top. For presentation, I overlap each slice slightly. Garnish on top with ½ tsp toasted white sesame seeds and shiso leaves. Serve immediately.

To Store

1. You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and keep them for 3 days in the refrigerator or for up to a month in the freezer.