Eggplant with Sesame Ponzu Sauce

Instructions

1. Gather all the ingredients. Finely chop 2 green onions/scallions and cut 5 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) into a chiffonade.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together all the ingredients for the sauce: 2 Tbsp ponzu, 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil, and ¼ tsp kobucha (kombucha) powder. Set aside.
3. In a nonstick frying pan, heat 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil on medium-high heat. While the oil is heating up, cut 1 Japanese or Chinese eggplant into slices ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Before the eggplant starts to change color, immediately start cooking. Pan-fry both sides of the eggplant until golden brown.
4. Transfer to a serving plate or individual plates. If you'd like to serve it cold, keep the sauce and finished eggplants separately in the refrigerator until you are ready to serve.
5. Sprinkle the chopped green onions and shredded shiso leaves on top. Drizzle the sesame ponzu sauce over the eggplant. Serve hot, at room temperature, or chilled.
6. You can keep the dish in an airtight container and store in the refrigerator for 3 days or in the freezer for 2 weeks. Store the sauce and eggplant in separate containers.