My baked and broiled Miso Glazed Eggplant strikes a scrumptious steadiness of silky texture and candy, umami taste. It’s creamy within the center with crisp edges and a bubbly, caramelized sauce on high. This satisfying vegan/vegetarian recipe is prepared in solely half-hour.
Eggplant might be difficult to prepare dinner. When it’s completed proper, it has a silky and opulent texture that may’t be beat. Give it a strive with my splendidly easy Miso Glazed Eggplant (茄子の味噌焼き) that’s really easy to make. It has a crispy exterior, a super-creamy inside, and a sweet-savory taste that’s really irresistible.
For those who love this eggplant dish, strive my Soy-Glazed Eggplant Donburi, Eggplant Agebitashi, and Mapo Eggplant recipes subsequent!
What’s Miso Glazed Eggplant?
Miso-glazed eggplant is my adaption of the basic dish nasu no miso dengaku (茄子の味噌田楽), the place eggplant is grilled and slathered with a candy and savory miso glaze. It’s generally served alongside different vegan/vegetarian substances like grilled tofu, daikon, taro root, and konnyaku (konjac) in a dish known as miso dengaku (味噌田楽) that the Japanese have loved because the 1500s.
Why I Love This Recipe
- Fuss-free oven technique: I bake and broil the miso eggplant for a extra hands-off strategy in comparison with pan-frying or grilling. With the oven, it’s a lot simpler to make a giant batch, too.
- A silky and creamy texture: I really like how baking the eggplant sweetens the flavour and softens the center. It’s so tender and splendid!
- The caramelized glaze provides unimaginable depth: As soon as baked, the eggplant goes below the broiler to accentuate the candy and salty flavors.
Components for Miso Glazed Eggplant
- Japanese eggplants – or use slender Chinese language/Italian eggplants
- Toasted sesame oil
- Miso – I take advantage of white miso
- Sake
- Mirin (candy rice wine)
- Sugar
Discover the printable recipe with measurements under.
Substitutions
- Miso: Basic miso dengaku makes use of crimson or Hatcho miso, however I selected Natural White Miso from Hikari Miso (discover it on Amazon) as a result of it’s gentle, flavorful, and candy. You should utilize any kind of miso, however chances are you’ll want so as to add extra mirin and sugar to counterbalance the elevated saltiness.
- Sake: Provides refined sweetness and umami. In a pinch, you possibly can substitute Chinese language rice wine, dry sherry, or water.
- Mirin: You possibly can substitute 1 Tbsp sake (or water) + 1 tsp sugar for each 1 Tbsp mirin. The taste isn’t the identical, but it surely’s shut.
Find out how to Make Miso Glazed Eggplant
Preparation
Step 1 – Make the candy miso glaze. Mix the miso and sugar in a small bowl. Combine within the mirin. Add the sake to your most well-liked consistency.
Step 2 – Rating and soak. Lower the eggplants in half lengthwise, then rating the floor with a knife in a crisscross sample. Briefly soak the eggplants in water and dry.
Baking
Step 3 – Brush with sesame oil and bake. Brush the flesh with sesame oil and place reduce facet down on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in a preheated 425ºF (220ºC) oven till the pores and skin begins to shrivel and the flesh softens. Take away the pan and preheat the broiler.
Step 4 – Broil. Flip over the eggplant and brush the reduce floor with candy miso glaze. Place below the broiler till the glaze begins to bubble.
Assemble
Step 5 – Garnish and serve. Sprinkle with non-obligatory sesame seeds, sliced inexperienced onions, and julienned shiso leaves. Serve with non-obligatory yuzu kosho on the facet.
Nami’s Recipe Suggestions
- Rating the eggplant in a crisscross sample – Scoring helps the eggplant prepare dinner sooner and soak up extra taste and improves the presentation. I make diagonal cuts with a sharp knife about ⅛ inch (3 mm) deep and aside in a single course first, then the opposite.
- Soak the reduce eggplant in water – Soaking removes the astringency from the eggplant for improved taste. I normally soak them for simply 10 minutes, then dry effectively with a kitchen towel or paper towel.
- Brush with sufficient glaze to coat the floor – Don’t overload your eggplant with candy miso glaze or it’ll style too salty. One batch of sauce makes sufficient for 3 giant or 5 medium eggplants, so you’ll have some leftover.
- Broil at an excellent distance – Hold the rack within the middle of the oven, roughly 7 inches (18 cm) away from the heating aspect. I discover that it takes 3–5 minutes to caramelize the glaze from this distance. The cooking time varies based mostly on how distant you place the baking sheet from the heating aspect.
Variations and Customizations
- Attempt it with tofu. Lower tofu into bite-sized items and prepare dinner it like Miso Glazed Eggplant.
- Sprinkle with julienned shiso. I listed shiso as an non-obligatory ingredient, however I extremely suggest utilizing it if you’ll find it at your native Japanese grocery retailer. Eggplant, miso, and shiso are a golden trio!
- Sprinkle with yuzu zest. You probably have recent yuzu available, strive including the brilliant and fragrant zest of this Japanese citrus to the glaze. In Japan, we additionally add kinome leaves, an herb from the Japanese prickly ash tree.
What to Serve with Miso Glazed Eggplant
You possibly can get pleasure from this Miso Glazed Eggplant as a tasty appetizer, facet dish, or foremost dish. Listed below are a number of the dishes you possibly can serve it with.
Storage Suggestions
To retailer: You possibly can maintain the nasu dengaku leftovers in an hermetic container and retailer it within the fridge for 3 days. You possibly can maintain the miso glaze leftovers within the fridge for as much as 7 days or within the freezer for as much as 1 month.
Ceaselessly Requested Questions
Sure! Please see my Miso Dengaku recipe for learn how to make the miso sauce utilizing crimson miso or darkish, pungent Hatcho miso from the Nagoya area. These two varieties are mostly used to make miso dengaku, though white miso paste and Saikyo miso are additionally in style. For those who really feel the flavour is simply too sturdy, notably within the case of Hatcho miso, you possibly can add dashi (Japanese soup inventory) to dilute the flavour a bit.
Servings: 3 (as a facet dish)
For the Garnish (non-obligatory)
Forestall your display from going darkish
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Collect all of the substances. Set the rack within the middle of the oven about 7 inches (18 cm) away from the heating aspect. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). For convection, scale back the temperature by 25ºF (15ºC).
To Make the Candy Miso Glaze
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Mix 3 Tbsp miso and 1 Tbsp sugar in a small bowl. Combine effectively to dissolve the sugar.
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Add 1 Tbsp mirin and ½ Tbsp sake and stir. If wanted, you possibly can add a bit extra sake till you attain your most well-liked consistency, as some miso is chunkier than others. Combine effectively and put aside.
To Put together the Eggplants
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Lower off the stem and calyx of 3 Japanese eggplants. Lower the eggplants in half lengthwise from stem to tip, creating boat-like halves. In case your eggplants are lengthy, you possibly can reduce them in half crosswise in order that they’re shorter.
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With the knife, rating the reduce floor of eggplant diagonally about ⅛ inch (3 mm) deep and aside. Work in a single course first after which the opposite, making a crisscross sample on the flesh. Tip: Along with enhancing the presentation, this crisscross scoring helps the eggplants prepare dinner sooner and soak up extra taste.
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Soak them in water for 10 minutes to take away the astringency. Blot them with paper towels or a clear kitchen towel and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
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Brush the reduce floor with 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil. Flip them over so they’re reduce facet down on the baking sheet.
To Bake
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Bake the eggplants at 425ºF (220ºC) for quarter-hour.
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In the meantime, reduce 1 inexperienced onion/scallion into skinny rounds. Roll up 5 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) and reduce them into julienned strips.
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After quarter-hour, the eggplant flesh must be smooth and the pores and skin barely shriveled. Take away the baking sheet from the oven. Now, preheat the broiler. Hold the rack in the identical middle place, roughly 7 inches (18 cm) away from the heating aspect.
To Broil
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Fastidiously flip the eggplants reduce facet up and brush the flesh with a layer of candy miso glaze. Coat the floor utterly. You needn’t use all of the glaze; one batch makes sufficient for 3 giant or 5 medium eggplants. Tip: You possibly can freeze any leftover glaze to make use of later or get pleasure from it as a dip for veggies.
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Place the eggplants below the broiler till the glaze begins to bubble and caramelize, about 3–5 minutes. Take away from the broiler. Tip: The cooking time varies based mostly on how distant you place the meals from the heating aspect.
To Serve
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Sprinkle the baked eggplants with 2 tsp toasted white sesame seeds, sliced inexperienced onions, and julienned shiso leaves. I serve a dab of yuzu kosho (non-obligatory) on a maple leaf for a spicy kick. Serve instantly.
Energy: 105 kcal · Carbohydrates: 15 g · Protein: 3 g · Fats: 4 g · Saturated Fats: 1 g · Polyunsaturated Fats: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fats: 1 g · Sodium: 321 mg · Potassium: 431 mg · Fiber: 6 g · Sugar: 9 g · Vitamin A: 87 IU · Vitamin C: 5 mg · Calcium: 36 mg · Iron: 1 mg
Editor’s Notice: This submit was initially revealed on June 30, 2013. It was up to date with new photographs and a revised recipe on September 27, 2021, and republished with extra useful content material on March 5, 2025.
