Miso-Glazed Eggplant (Nasu Dengaku)
Ingredients
2 servings
- Eggplants 2
- Olive oil (for frying) 2 tbsp
- Miso paste 3 tbsp (50 g)
- Light soy sauce 2 tbsp
- Mirin 3 tbsp
- Honey 1 tbsp (21 g)
- Sesame oil 2 tsp
- Sesame seeds, chili, green onion, cilantro for serving
Step-by-step recipe
How to prepare the eggplants
At home, eggplant with a miso paste glaze is easy to make. It is best to use small, young, cylindrical eggplants with a glossy skin and no developed seeds. In stores, miso paste is sold in packets of 100-150 grams. I used a light brown paste, which works not only for the glaze but also for soup. All the other sauces and oils are easy to find too.
The eggplants first need to be roasted or fried. You can heat coals in a grill and roast the whole eggplants, then cut them. Or, more conveniently, cut them and fry in oil.
Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and score the flesh in a crosshatch pattern. It is best to cut them together with the stem so that both halves keep a green tip, purely for looks. With the tip of a knife, cut the flesh down to the skin in a grid, without cutting through the skin itself.
How to fry the eggplants
Brush the halves with olive oil and fry them flesh side down. The flesh soaks up oil like a sponge, so to avoid using too much while frying, I suggest brushing it on with a silicone brush. Heat a flat-bottomed skillet over medium heat, place the eggplant halves flesh side down and fry for 4-5 mins.
Turn the eggplants over and fry on the skin side for another 5 mins, until soft and golden. If needed, brush the eggplants with a little more oil.
How to make the glaze
Make the miso paste glaze in a large bowl. Open the miso packet and squeeze the paste into the bowl: 3 tbsp, about a quarter cup. Add 2 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tsp sesame oil, which is very aromatic, and 1 tbsp honey (21 g). Pour 3 tbsp mirin into the glaze. Mirin, a sweet rice liqueur, is available in stores. If you cannot find it, add dry white wine. Thanks to the honey in the glaze, the result will be similar.
Mix the glaze with a fork. You should get a dark liquid about as thick as kefir.
How to bake
Arrange the halves on a baking sheet and pour the glaze over them. Line the baking sheet with parchment paper so the eggplants do not burn or stick to the metal, and place the halves flesh side up. With a spoon, pour the glaze onto the flesh side. When fried, the flesh shrinks and leaves a small hollow, so a lot of glaze can fit. Mine took almost three quarters of a cup. If a little spills onto the baking sheet, that is fine.
Bake until bubbles appear on the glaze. Preheat the oven to 210-220°C and put the baking sheet in. Baking time depends on your oven and can be 10-20 mins. You can also put the glazed eggplants under a preheated broiler. Go by the bubbles appearing on the surface of the glaze. By the way, the glaze does not set hard, it stays very thick and soft. As soon as bubbles appear, the dish is ready.
Serving
Arrange the eggplants on serving plates. Slice green onion and chili on a diagonal and use them to decorate the glaze. Sprinkle with lightly toasted sesame seeds and garnish with a sprig of cilantro. Serve the dish while it is hot.
Calories and macros
355 kcal
Serving ≈ 370 g
- Protein8 g10% of kcal
- Fat21 g60% of kcal
- Carbs24 g30% of kcal
100 g95 kcalProtein 2 gFat 5.5 gCarbs 6.3 g
Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.