Nasu Dengaku {Miso Eggplant}

nasu dengaku (miso broiled eggplant) / loveandlemons.com nasu dengaku (miso broiled eggplant) / loveandlemons.com

If you need a reason to try (and love) miso, this is your recipe. I’m hoping eggplant is still in season where you are. I was excited to find these little nearly-black beauties at our farmers market last weekend. If you don’t have eggplant, this sweet & salty glaze is amazing on cod, tofu, and even sweet potatoes.

nasu dengaku (miso broiled eggplant) / loveandlemons.com

There are many variations to the dengaku recipe – some use sake along with mirin, some add a bit of ginger… I’ve even made it with agave syrup before (although that would probably not be approved by the Japanese, shh). 

I like this version – it’s 1/4 cup of just 3 ingredients: miso, mirin (japanese sweet cooking wine) & sugar. It’s easy to remember without having to refer back to a recipe, and you can alter it however you like from there.

nasu dengaku (miso broiled eggplant) / loveandlemons.com

I fell in love with this dish in Kyoto – definitely an all time favorite!

nasu dengaku

 
Author:
Serves: serves 2-4
Ingredients
  • japanese or chinese eggplant
  • a little bit of olive oil
  • chopped scallions
  • sesame seeds
for the glaze:
  • ¼ cup white or yellow miso paste
  • ¼ cup mirin
  • ¼ cup organic cane sugar (sometimes I use a bit less)
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Slice your eggplant in half, arrange on a baking sheet and gently score the surface of the flesh. Brush with a little bit of olive oil and pre-bake your eggplant for a few minutes until the flesh starts to become tender. (8 mintues or so, depending on the size of your eggplant). Remove eggplant from the oven and turn your oven temp to "broil."
  3. Meanwhile, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, combine the miso, mirin and sugar and bring to a gentle simmer. Whisk continuously until the sugar has dissolved and the glaze starts to thicken (2 minutes or so - barely bubbling). Remove from heat and let it cool (and continue to thicken) for a few minutes. Note - if you taste it at this point, it'll seem VERY salty - it will sweeten once the sugars caramelize on the eggplant under the broiler.
  4. Liberally brush the glaze onto the eggplant. Broil until brown & bubbling (about 5-8 minutes). The amount of time will vary depending on the size of your eggplant and the strength of your broiler. Check after about 3 minutes.
  5. Remove from the oven and garnish with chopped scallions and sesame seeds. If your eggplants are larger with tougher skin, scoop and eat just the flesh. These (pictured) were tiny and tender enough to eat with the skin.
Notes
Regular white sugar is fine, if that's what you have.

I used 4 small eggplants here (8 halves), and used about half of the glaze. Double (or use larger ones) if you want more.

Store extra glaze in the fridge for up to a week. You can use this same method on tofu or cod, adjust cooking times accordingly.

You should be able to find miso & mirin pretty easily at any grocery store that has a decent enough international section. The miso in the refrigerated section near the tofu. Mirin should be in the asian aisle near the soy sauces and rice vinegars.

34 comments

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  1. Michelle
    07.20.2015

    I just made this for the first time last night and it was absolutely amazing!! Do you think this would work well with other veggies too? I’m thinking zucchini and summer squashes, maybe spaghetti squash too.

    • jeanine
      08.30.2015

      Hi Michelle, sorry for my slow reply – this glaze works great on other vegetables – I’ve made it with sweet potatoes (although they have to cook much longer – cook them until soft, then glaze, then broil). I haven’t tried with zucchini, etc but I’m thinking it would be really tasty 🙂

  2. cara from biggirlssmallkitchen.com
    10.09.2013

    This looks amazing! Miso eggplant is one of my all-time favorites – so glad to have this simple recipe!

  3. Julia from cloudberriesandspice.com
    10.08.2013

    Oh this recipe sounds delicious – and your food photography on this blog is beautiful!

  4. I absolutely love eggplant and miso together. What another lovely and simple recipe. Our eggplant is almost done for the season at our farm so I need to whip this up fast!

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Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.