Summer Food

During the summer, I leave for work a bit early and walk through the farmers market in Union Square. My favorite in this market is one of the Korean farmers. They got Japanese vegetables, some of which are hard to find. For the summer, they have Japanese eggplant, seedless cucumber, okra, Japanese sweet pepper and mizuna leaf.

Using these summer vegetables:

Okra and Chicken
Cut chicken breast, onion and okra into about 1/2" cubes. If you have, fine chop some fresh ginger and garlic. Stir-fry chicken and ginger/garlic first and add the vegetables. Season with salt, pepper and some chili sauce or soy sauce if you like.

Fried Eggplant and Shishito Pepper in Bonito Broth
Cut Japanese eggplant into 2 inches. Deep-fry the veggies quickly in vegetable oil (salad oil, corn, canola oil)
Put them in bonito broth with a bit of mirin and soy sauce with grated ginger. (I personally love the ginger. Really good combination with eggplant.) Put a piece or flakes of dried hot chili if you like.
Leave it for a while and chill in the refrigerator till it cools down. (no need to make it super cold)