Japanese-style Braised Eggplant & Green Pepper with Udon noodles

Braised eggplant or "Nasu no Nibitashi" is a traditional Japanese dish. Fry eggplant first (I did pan-frying but deep-frying is also common.) and then simmer it in a sweet and savory broth made with Dashi (fish and seaweed based Japanese broth), soy sauce, sugar (I used Splenda) and Mirin (rice wine). Some fresh ginger and toasted sesame seeds were a lovely touch. I added green peppers since the eggplant was a little small for two of us. This kind of dish is simply comfy for me. Perhaps it might be a strange thing for J but he finished his bowl without any complain. How wonderful!