🍱 Nasu-iri

Eggplant is in season from summer to fall, and the types grown in different regions are quite different. It is said that eggplant cultivation began in Miyagi Prefecture around 1590, during the reign of Date Masamune, the feudal lord. It is believed that an eggplant brought back from Hakata by one of Date's vassals adapted to the Tohoku climate over a long period of time and took on a unique shape. It is called "Sendai naganasu (long eggplant)," and is used in a variety of dishes, such as pickles and stir-fries. Eggplant is a vegetable with high water content, and its nutritional value lies in a type of polyphenol called nasunin, which is found in the skin. Nasunin, an anthocyanin pigment, has strong antioxidant properties and is said to have a strong ability to suppress active oxygen, which is a source of cancer and lifestyle-related diseases. It also reduces the absorption of cholesterol. The nutritious eggplant stir fried with its skin intact is called Nasu-iri. It is a simple dish made by stir frying together with Abura-fu or Aburaage (deep-fried bean curd) in soy sauce, and has long been made as a reserve dish in Miyagi Prefecture. In addition to stir-frying with soy sauce, each household has its own way of cooking it: adding sugar and Mirin(sweet rice wine), stir-frying with Miso, adding walnuts, and so on.