TOKUSHIMA--Eggplants have reminded picture book writer Takeshi Harada of his “demon-like” but loving mother who taught him valuable life lessons before her death when he was in his early teens.

His mother’s influence has also led in part to a low-carb specialty developed by Harada, a Tokushima resident, that allows him to “reduce my weight while eating whatever I like.”

In spring 2020, Harada, now 49, found that he had put on 10 kilograms while remaining mostly indoors during the novel coronavirus crisis.

He dieted but still craved his favorite food: curry.

Finely cut cauliflower, broccoli and other vegetables have been used as substitutes for rice among the increasing number of health-conscious consumers in Japan.

Harada tried curry with cauliflower every day, but he found the rice replacement “tastes dry and boasts too peculiar an aroma to please my mouth.”

Harada tested various other veggies and found that eggplants were particularly tasty.

The experience took him back to his childhood days in Awa, Tokushima Prefecture.

His parents were eggplant farmers, and his mother was gentle and always smiling.

But one day, when Harada was around 10 years old, she suddenly ordered him to sell damaged eggplants at a housing complex.

The vegetables could not be put on the market. The sales job was the first for Harada.

He pushed intercom buttons at doors to speak with residents, but he sold zero eggplants on the first two days.

Instead of comforting the elementary school pupil, the mother scolded him, saying, “You must sell them tomorrow.”

On the third day, Harada summoned up the courage to bellow out his pitch: “Would you like delicious eggplants? Their shapes are bad but they are tasty. They are priced as cheap as 100 yen (78 cents).”

Many customers, including one who initially yelled at the young salesman to scare him away, admired Harada for his persistence and bought his offerings.

The experience made him aware of the difficulties in earning money while sparking his interest in working.

Harada was 14 when his mother died at age 53.

After her death, his father told Harada that his mother had shed tears in a car when her son was selling eggplants.

Harada’s mother had leukemia, and she knew she did not have much time left to teach Harada the “way to live.”

He said his mother’s strict but affectionate lesson enabled him to overcome all kinds of difficulty in work.

EGGPLANT TESTS

In 2014, Harada released a picture book about a “demon-like mother demanding her son of elementary school age sell eggplants.”

“I now live a life following the story as a writer,” Harada said. “I want my mother to check out the eggplant-based rice substitute. She loved novel things, so she would rejoice by calling it ‘unimaginable’ and ‘astonishing.’”

Harada fried, boiled and steamed eggplants for curry. He also test-sliced eggplants to different sizes.

After two years of tinkering at home, he completed the prototype of “eggplant rice” in January this year.

The costs for developing the recipe were covered mainly by his illustrated publication sales.

Harada even commissioned a research company to analyze the components of his project.

The findings showed that using tiny steamed pieces of cut eggplants instead of rice slashed carbs by 94 percent and calories by 91 percent.

Eggplant rice is also rich in polyphenol, which is believed to have antioxidative effects.

The eggplant rice helped Harada drop 11.5 kg over two years.

The white surface of the eggplant’s flesh reminded him of the uniform of the nurse who helped him lose weight.

The Japanese word for eggplant is “nasu,” which is pronounced in a similar way to “nurse.” So he registered eggplant rice as a trademark under the name “nasu in white.”

To reduce food waste, he used dried eggplant peels to create a tea with a refreshing flavor and an eggplant aroma.

Its color can change depending on how it is brewed. The beverage features a larger amount of polyphenol than wine, Harada said.

“I came up with the drink idea simply to reduce food loss,” he said. “But it may prove to be our flagship product.”

A 200-gram package of eggplant rice costs 777 yen, including tax. A set of eight 2-gram packs of eggplant tea is available for 888 yen after tax.

They were put on sale on March 26 at a specialized Japanese website at (https://nasurice.com/).