ingredients（serves 2-3）
1 small bitter melon (about 250 g)
2 small eggplants (about 120 g each)
5 medium-sized niboshi / dried sardines
4 tbsp sesame oil
A (mix in advance)
4 tbsp miso
4 tbsp mirin
B (mix in advance)
2 1/2 tbsp hakurikiko / “soft” wheat flour
6 tbsp water
How to make
1. Peel three stripes down the length of each eggplant; cut the eggplants vertically in half, then diagonally into 1 cm thick slices, and soak in a bowl of water to remove the lye. Cut the bitter melon vertically in half, spoon out the seeds and pith, and cut into 5 mm thick slices. Remove the head and gut, and flake the dried sardines by hand (small sardines can be used as is).
2. Heat the sesame oil and flaked dried sardines in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil starts to sizzle, add the eggplant and bitter melon.
3. When a few slices of eggplant start to soften, add A and stir to let the water evaporate, then add B and stir until the sauce thickens. Enjoy as is or over rice or somen noodles.
* Your usual favorite miso will work fine for this recipe, but if you have several types, I recommend the one with the lightest color. Mugi miso (made with barley koji) will make your dish taste especially like the local koneri.
Everyone is friendly in the hot spring resort of Beppu City, Oita Prefecture. Families I visited for the first time welcomed me in and offered their hospitality at a minute’s notice, and some even treated me to a soak in their home hot spring bath the moment I walked through the front door. In just a few days’ stay, I made a fun circle of friends and learned quite a few local recipes. Here, let me share a summer dish called koneri. Sauté some dried sardines in sesame oil, add eggplant and bitter melon, flavor with miso, and thicken with flour. What a perfect example of Kyushu’s wheat flour culture. The flour creates a smooth, thick texture that locks in the flavor of the vegetables and miso, and makes the food easy to eat even when the summer heat has taken away your appetite. Some families make the dish with bell pepper and pork, or season it with soy sauce.
And in some areas, koneri is also called Holland, perhaps because Oita is close to Nagasaki Prefecture, which was a center of trade with the Netherlands during the premodern Edo period (1603–1868), and sautéing was a Western technique, and at the time, Western was synonymous with Dutch. Koneri is made with ordinary everyday ingredients, but the cooking technique was new to me, and I found the subtle accent of the bitter melon in the thick texture surprisingly delicious.. Enjoy as is or as a topping on rice or somen noodles—koneri is a handy, versatile dish for the summer.
minokamo | Cookery expert / Photographer
Gifu Prefecture native minokamo’s culinary adventures were inspired by her fond childhood memories of cooking with her grandmother. She researches, writes about, and arranges regional dishes that capture, through their preparation and presentation, sensory enjoyments inspired by local climate, history, and lifestyles. Ryori tabi kara tadaima(Back from a Cooking Journey; Fudosha), published in September 2020, is a collection of recipes from minokamo’s visits to homes up and down Japan.
