Gaji-namul is a simple, delicious, everyday Korean side dish, meant to be eaten with other side dishes and rice.
It’s one of my favorites. I love the fresh taste, soft texture, and the beautiful vibrant purple color of the dish on the table. It’s refreshing and goes well with oilier items to offset their texture and taste. I never get tired of it!
If you are a vegetarian, replace the fish sauce with soy sauce.
Ingredients
(serves 4):
- 1 pound of Korean eggplants (3-4 eggplants), caps removed and washed
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 green onions, chopped
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 teaspoon fish sauce
- 1 teaspoon Korean hot pepper flakes (gochugaru)
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame oil
- 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds, crushed
Directions
- Prep your steamer by adding 2 cups of water to it. Set heat to medium-high for it to boil, it shoud take about 5 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut eggplants crosswise into 2½ inch pieces. Cut the thicker pieces in half lengthwise.
- When the water starts boiling, put the eggplants on the steamer rack and cover. Steam for 5 minutes over medium high heat.
- Remove from the heat. Take out the steamed eggplant and transfer to a cutting board. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes until you can easily handle them.
- Tear each piece into bite size pieces.
Make seasoning mixture:
- Combine garlic, green onion, soy sauce, fish sauce, hot pepper flakes, sesame oil in a mixing bowl.
- Mix well with a wooden spoon.
Put it together & serve:
- Add the steamed eggplant to the bowl and mix well by hand or with the wooden spoon.
- Sprinkle with the crushed sesame seeds and serve with rice.
Maangchi's Amazon picks for this recipe
It's always best to buy Korean items at your local Korean grocery store, but I know that's not always possible so I chose these products on Amazon that are good quality. See more about how these items were chosen.
Just tried this recipe and it turned out great! Thank you! Only thing I did different was after I tore the eggplant into strips, I squeezed the extra water out so the texture was more “ggo-deul ggo-deul” (my mom’s suggestion).
Hi Maangchi-shi, just made your gaji namul and it was very yummy :D thanks for your recipe!
here are my photos:
http://tastesofhome.blogspot.com/2010/12/korean-marinated-eggplant-gaji-namul.html
xoxo
Jen
Jen,
Gajinamul is one of my favorite side dishes, too. You mentioned Spicy Sichuan style eggplant! That’s my favorite, too. lol
hehe I just made Spicy Sichuan eggplant and I had some eggplant left so I went to your site for ideas and of course I was not disappointed :D
When I saw this recipe online, I IMMEDIATELY ran to H-Mart and bought many eggplants – I LOVE eggplant – I cannot get enough!!
Once I made this recipe, I fell in love with the tender eggplant and the flavor: excellent. My boyfriend tried some (he hates eggplant) but he loves this recipe because it tasted so good! He was lucky that I did not eat all of it in one sitting :)
Thank you Maangchi!!!
what if you don’t have a steamer? Is there another way to cook it?
I would use a microwave oven and cook until tender.
You’re such a crack up!!! Love the hair and glasses. This week husband will be on business trip. I’ll be home alone and this is what I’m going to make. Will go to Costco to their Poke section (Hawaiian prepared raw fish) and will buy some civiche shrimp to eat with the gaji namul
I made this for my Fiance who loves eggplant. He loved it so much I had to show him how to make it. He makes it all the time now. Very delicious!
Give your fiance a high-five because eggplant side dish (gajinamul) is my top favorite, too! Check my interview where I mentioned gajinamul is my favorite! : )
http://asianfeastival.com/2010/09/01/meet-maangchi/
Don’t we need to add salt?
Not with that much soy sauce. Soy sauce is really high in sodium already so adding more salt would be overkill.
Every time I make a new dish I say to myself “Wow this is soooooo good, this is my favorite Korean dish.” But I really mean it this time! The eggplant just melts in your mouth. I also love how you mash the sesame seeds in your hands. I tried it and it makes them even more delicious. I’m headed to the store to buy some more eggplant.
“The eggplant just melts in your mouth” That’s exacly right! I should make gajinamul soon. Reading your comment makes me feel like it desperately! : )
Thank you for your recipes!! I’ve been married over 13 years to a Korean and he is FINALLY happy with my cooking – thanks to your recipes! LOL
I just made the eggplant side dish this morning and it received a thumbs up from him. :-)
I’m glad to hear that! : )
I really love your recipes . Im your fan of Maangchi’s recipes!
Thank you for sharing your fantastic recipes
Thanks a lot,Aunny! Happy New Year!
I always cook the aubergine in the microwave… I just slice the aubergine and put it in a microwaveable bowl then cover with cling film, and pierce the top with a chopstick or whatever a few times. Then it takes a couple of minutes, say 4 minutes? I haven’t really noticed the bitterness whilst using UK aubergines (well it says they’re from Spain). After they are cooked I add the sauces and eat it straight away, nice and hot. I know some people like it cold, but I prefer it like that. Good with some bokkumbab! It reminds me of my mum’s cooking when I miss home :D
민정, London and Aberdeen (I’m at uni lol)
Thank you Emily for the recipe, they are very easy to follow, my parent and my sister came over last weekend and they are impressed with the food. Thank you again, you are the best, I am looking forward for more recipe from you and trying them out
Thank you very much for your update! Your family must be proud of you!
easy to cook and look yummy!
Maangchi I just love this salad because my garden is full of eggplant this time of the year. I altered your seasoning just a little bit by adding one half tsp, of sugar and one tsp. of rice vinegar. So delicious thanks for posting this recipie. Vinnie
FIRST TIME I ATE THE SPICY EGG PLANT, IT WAS SO GOOD!!!!
Vinnie, cool! I wish I had a garden to grow my favorite vegetables!
Jenny, Congratulation!
Great! I’ve been thinking of what to make of the eggplants we all harvested from sister’s garden before the frost tomorrow. This dish is what I’ve been looking for! I really enjoyed watching your videos. We are both from Toronto! I go to P.A.T supermarket here in Scarborough for my produce, meat & pantry items each week. Eventhough I cannot read or speak much Korean, I find it relaxing to go there. I think my love of Korean cooking all started with chapchae. I make it all the time for our get-togethers. Always a sell-out!
Maangchi <3 this dish it was so easy to make and tasted amazing
thank you for the recipe
Sam
Maangchi…this is so good…makes an eggplant really interesting taste. Luckily I am in asia so asian eggplant is in abundance…you are really so interesting…no wonder your recipes are interesting as well and really am addicted to korean cooking your way…I thought korean food is unhealthy cuz lots of meat…but you made it my favorite cuisine now!
gajinamul is my favorite side dish. Thank you very much!
Hi Maangchi,
Wow, I don’t aware that Korean use aubergine in their cuisine anyway my question is aren’t the aubergine / eggplant taste rather bitter flavour. Are there any differences using western rounded aubergine and Asian aubergine??? Any suggestions and tips???
Thank u so much.
The skin of Western eggplants are sometimes bitter. (I mentioned this in my video recipe). If Asian eggplants are not available, you could use western eggplants. Just skin it before steaming.
Thanks so much Maangchi for the reply.
Hmmm, could you share some tips on how to remove the bitterness of the aubergine??? By the way, thanks so much… and you are one of my favourite cookery presenters I ever know…
Thank u, thank u… ^_^
The skin of western eggplant is bitter, so after removing the skin, steam it to make this dish.
Excellent Maangchi.
Thanks so much for the tips.
Hope to learn more new recipes from you in future.
^_^
In Albania (where I come from) we have western eggplants and we have kind of a similar dish as gajinamul, but of course without the soy sauce. Anyway, what I wanted to say is that what we do to take away the bitterns of the skin is to soak them in water with lots of salt. You really need to submerge them in the water and leave them for an 30 min to an hr.
This definitely helps.
Btw, the Albanian recipe is even easier than this. We just fry the julienne pieces of eggplant, then pour olive oil, minced garlic and vinegar (either red or balsamic). It is delicious.
However, I much prefer Asian food so gajinamul is my favourite way to cook it.
Thank you Maangchi for the easy and delicious recipes.
hello maangchi….i am your avid viewer,although im not korean,but i love your cooking style,i tried your vegetable pancake.wowwwwww.im a vegetarian,its my pleasure if you can feature more vegetarian food.thank you so much.keep up the good work.
Sure, I will keep it in mind. I prefer vegetables to meat,too.
usually the style of eggplant i eat is stir fried with dried shrimp and eggs. i don’t fancy the taste so i’ll try to avoid eating.
however, when i saw your recipe, it immediately speaks ‘delicious’ so i made it. it was superb! it’s the best way to prepare eggplants! i think i can consume 3 eggplants at one good with this recipe :D
Yeah, I love this recipe. 3 eggplants! I’m not surprised. : )
I made it and it was delicious. Thanks.
wonderful! : )
Hi Manngchi,
I enjoyed watching your videos, trying your recipes and have lately been shopping at a local Korean market. Today I bought a bag of “Dot Na Mul” hoping that I could figure out a recipe to use it in.
What is another name for that plant, or alternate western spelling. Could I substitute it for another ingredient in one of your dishes? Any suggestions. Google had next to nothing.
The leafs are fleshy and appear to be from a succulent plant and are on stems about 4-5 inches long.
Thanks,
Jonathan
fresh dotnamul? Wow, where do you live? I haven’t seen the vegetable for years! Is this vegetable you bought?
http://hanttol.tistory.com/329
If so, wash and drain it and make Korean style salad. The recipe for sauce is posted under my Korean style mixed green salad.
https://www.maangchi.com/recipe/tofu-stew-doenjang-chigae
Mix it with the sauce just before serving it.
Yes, that’s it. Thanks so much.
I’m in Los Angeles and found this at the Galleria Market at 3250 W. Olympic Blvd in the Koreatown area.
Hi! Can you use regular eggplant or does it have to be Asian/Japanese?
I used Asian eggplant, but you could use regular eggplant, too. If you use regular eggplant, peel the skin off before steaming it and the rest of recipe will be the same.
Dear Mangchi,
It looks just very much like my mum’s cooking style. Thanks a lot for showing your recipe and I want to say I am a your huge fan from Singapore! You are a great cook!
Kind regards
Kay
Thank you, Kay!
Today I tried your recipe for Gaji namul and it was just so good!!
Thank you so much. You really inspire me to cook Korean food as it looks so delicious. I just watched your Korean Pancake one. I will try it tomorrow.
Thanks!
Thank you very much!! Good timing!! I’m about to have my dinner and I think they smell fine =)* *(=
Katt,
If I were you, I would smell it to check if the kongnamulmuchim is fresh enough to eat. I wish I could rush to your house and smell and taste it on behalf you! haha!
Anyway, if you feel uncomfortable,throw it away.
Ah, sorry, I forgot to leave my name. That was me, Katt! =____=b
Thanks for your answer, Maangchi. I was just wondering if it applies also to the Kongnamool. I made these two ban chans yesterday, and I used the whole bag of soy bean sprouts, so now I ended up having a lot of Kongnamool left in the fridge. I’m afraid to eat it b/c I’m worried that I will have a upset stomach since I dunno how long it can stay in the fridge. Please let me know, me and the Kongnamool are waiting…Thank you!:)
Shaolin,
I’m glad to hear that your gajinamul cooked with the microwave oven turned out good!
Katt,
Only 1 day! : )
Hi, Maangchi
I love this recipe! Thanks for sharing *__* I have one question, how long can the leftover stay in the fridge? Thank you! Waiting for more mouthwatering recipes!
Hey,
I also tried making this dish using the microwave to cook the aubergines. Nicest if steamed but also quite good in the microwave if you don’t have a steamer. :)
x
janet,
Keep thinking how to steam it without a steamer! You have all ingredients except for a steamer! : )
You could use a method that I used a long time ago. When you make your rice using a pot, first cook the mixture of rice and water. When the rice boils over, lower the heat to simmer it. At the time of lowering the heat, add pieces of eggplant to the top of rice. When you finish cooking the rice, your eggplant will be cooked at the same time.
I don’t have a steamer. Is there another way I can cook the eggplant?
just to say thank u, ur recipe is easy yet tasty.
thanks u ‘muacks’ (a big kiss to u)
Shaolin,
haha, I agree with what you are saying. “everytime it tastes better” because practice makes perfect! You are the queen of gajinamul (eggplant side dish)! : )