The Ingredients Are Below
Baby Eggplant: You can use any eggplant for this recipe, but baby eggplant tends to be a bit sweeter and easier to prep.
Sweet White Miso: I like to use sweet white miso in this recipe. Red miso and brown miso are a bit more pungent. It pairs wonderfully with the mirin and palm sugar and is the perfect amount of umami that soaks into the eggplant. You can find miso in most supermarkets near the tofu in any Asian market or organic market.
Hot Water: The hot water is needed to thin out the mirin with the other ingredients and is also used to cut the sugar content from the mirin and palm sugar, so the sauce is not too “tacky” and sticky. The water makes the sauce smooth and silky.
Mirin: This is fermented Japanese rice wine. It’s similar to sake but has a lower alcohol content and is much sweeter. It adds great depth of flavor and should be a staple in your pantry.
Palm Sugar: I like to use coconut palm sugar as my sweetening agent. This sugar has both a low glycemic index and low fructose levels. It contains antioxidants, minerals, is unrefined, and contains no chemical breakdown alterations or artificial ingredients. It is pure and simple!
Garlic: I like to use a Japanese mandolin to slice the garlic thinly. If you don’t own a mandolin, you can, of course, use a knife. The thinly sliced garlic allows me to make sure it is not burning in the sauté pan, and I love the texture that it adds to the eggplant.
Kosher Salt: Using a high-quality Kosher salt is an absolute MUST for cooking! It will provide a better final product!
Coconut Oil: I use coconut oil to sear the eggplant because it has a high smoking point and adds additional sweetness to the dish. I like to buy unrefined coconut oil that is less processed.
Scallions: Scallions add a nice touch of color to the dish and a little extra raw texture.
REMOVING EXCESS MOISTURE FROM THE EGGPLANT
- Eggplant is a naturally astringent vegetable. Salt helps extract excess water and opens the vegetable’s pores, making it sweeter and more adaptable to flavor.
- In French, this process is called degorge.
- The excess moisture develops on the outside of the eggplant, and then it needs to be patted dry before searing in the coconut oil.
Miso Eggplant (Japanese Nasu Dengaku) Recipe
Equipment
- Paring Knife
- Measuring Cup Set
- Medium Mixing Bowl
- Whisk
- Large Sauté Pan
- Tongs
- Cooking Weight
- Sheet Tray
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 2 lbs Japanese eggplant
- Kosher salt to sprinkle over eggplant
- 1/3 cup sweet white miso
- 1 tbs sake
- 1/4 cup mirin
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 4-5 tbs neutral oil
- 2 green onions, minced
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slice the eggplant lengthwise and then create a cross-hatch pattern in the flesh, taking care not to cut through the eggplant.
- Sprinkle the eggplant flesh with salt (this will remove excess moisture and make the eggplant less astringent).
- Whisk together the miso, sake, mirin, and sugar in a medium mixing bowl.
- Pat the eggplant dry with paper towels. Heat a large sauté pan over moderate heat and coat with neutral oil.
- Make sure the oil is smoking hot (this will season the pan and prevent the eggplant from sticking to the bottom of the pan). You can determine this by adding a few drops of water to the pan; the water should dance on the surface and dissipate after a few seconds.
- Allow the oil to glisten, and place the eggplant in the pan, flesh side down. Sear the eggplant (you might need to do this in two batches if they all do not fit in the pan) for 2-3 minutes until a beautiful golden brown. If you have a weight, place this on top of the eggplant to create a beautiful sear.
- Remove the eggplant pieces from the pan and place them on an aluminum-lined or parchment-lined sheet tray flesh side up.
- Liberally glaze the miso sauce over the flesh of the eggplant and place it in the oven.
- Cook until the eggplant is tender, about 12 minutes. During this time, you can baste the eggplant again and rotate your pan in the oven.
- Take the cooked eggplant out of the oven and turn your oven to a high broil.
- Liberally baste your eggplant again, place the tray on the top portion of your oven, and cook for about 2 minutes until the sauce bubbles and all of your eggplant becomes golden brown (you might need to rotate your pan in the oven for this step). If you have extra sauce, it’s perfect to save to glaze fish or chicken in your fridge.
- Garnish the cooked eggplant with the green onions.
Notes
- Salt your eggplant before cooking to remove excess moisture: Eggplant is a naturally astringent vegetable. Salt helps extract excess water and opens the vegetable’s pores, making it sweeter and more adaptable to flavor. The excess moisture develops on the outside of the eggplant, and then it needs to be patted dry before searing in the coconut oil.
- Score the eggplant: This also helps draw out moisture, makes the sauce more permeable into the flesh, and helps the eggplant cook evenly.
- Whisk your glaze until smooth: The hot water will help loosen the miso. Make sure you whisk this glaze until it’s smooth before basting the eggplant.
- Place your eggplant on a lined baking sheet while cooking. Because this glaze has a high sugar content, the sauce will bubble over the eggplant and onto the sheet tray, so make your life easier by lining the tray to have less clean-up.
