Japanese Miso Glazed Eggplant (Nasu-Dengaku)

This delicious salty-sweet roasted eggplant is a Japanese delicacy that can be found throughout the country, but especially loved by Kyoto.

So I have a confession… I don’t like eggplant. Or mushroom, or olives, or anything else with that slimy gummy texture. I’ve never been a fan of any of them BUT, like everything in life, there are exceptions.

This is one of them. I seriously LOVE this eggplant recipe, anytime I crave Japanese food I think back to when I visited Japan in 2016 and the phenomenal cultural hub the whole country is. I particularly loved Kyoto and the Buddhist temple our Japanese host family brought my dad and I to during our trip there. I had just become fully vegan a few months prior to our trip and I had studied Shojin Ryori (buddhist cooking) which was 100% plant-based.

Aside- I loved the philosophies of Shojin Ryori so much I wrote 2 final papers about it in college and got stellar grades on them.

So it was to no surprise that when my host family insisted we all have a meal together at the temple’s restaurant, I was happy to oblige. This lunch was a set menu and consisted of the finest authentic Japanese cuisine I experienced during the entire trip. From fresh made tofu, handmade mochi, miso soup, pickled vegetables, and much more. My dad and I’s favorite? The miso glazed eggplant.

It was perfectly cooked with unimaginable flavor! What a delicacy! Immediately after finishing the meal, I thought to myself that I needed to recreate it. Luckily, I noted the flavors in the dish and recreated it the next day for my host family. This is the result:

Miso Glazed Eggplant (Nasu-Dengaku)

Time: 10-15 minutes | Servings: 6

Ingredients:

• 2 tbs White Miso Paste (shiro miso)

• 2 tbs Mirin

• 1 tbs Shao Xing Cooking Wine or Sake

• 3 tbs Organic Sugar (I used brown, but any natural sugar will do)

• 3-4 Chinese Eggplants (they’re longer and thinner than regular eggplants)

• 4 tbs Olive Oil

Directions:

• Wash and chop ends off of the eggplants. Then, slice the eggplants in half or thirds (depending on how big you want the pieces) as well as lengthwise down the middle. Take one piece and using a sharp paring knife, cut through the flesh in a criss-cross pattern being careful to not cut through the bottom skin of the eggplant and leaving a border around the edges. (See Video)

• Take a large pan and coat it with the olive oil. Sear the eggplants, cut side up, covered on medium-high heat for 2-3 minutes, then flip the eggplant and cook for another 2-3 minutes covered.

• While the eggplants are cooking, preheat the oven to the Broil setting (550ºF) and whisk together all the miso paste, mirin, shao xing wine, and sugar in a small bowl until a loose paste forms.

• Line a baking tray with aluminium foil and place the eggplants cut side up on the tray. Evenly distribute the miso glaze on top of all the eggplant pieces and then broil in the oven at 550ºF for 1-2 minutes (keep an eye on them so the tops don’t burn!). Look for a caramelized bubbling to indicate completion.

• Serve with brown rice and enjoy! Also great to try with my Crispy Mango Vegan Chicken.

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