Gaji-namul (Seasoned Steamed Eggplant)

Gaji-namul belongs to summer, when eggplants are cheap at the market and their skins shine almost black-purple in the basket. Cook the month you're standing in. If the eggplant is firm, light for its size, and the cap still looks fresh, this dish asks very little of you. If it is seedy and tired, cook another namul tonight.

The dish lives or dies by water. Boil eggplant and you get a gray, loose banchan that weeps into the rice. Steam it whole or in long halves, just until a chopstick passes through with a little resistance, then tear it by hand while it is still warm enough to drink in the seasoning. A knife makes neat strips. Your hands make the better texture.

Season each namul alone, in its own bowl, and taste it before it meets the table. Here the dressing is soy sauce, garlic, scallion, sesame oil, sesame seeds, and only a breath of gochugaru if you want it. The eggplant should taste soft, savory, and clean, not buried. 손맛 is real. I still measure it, so it can be handed on.