Nasu Dengaku Grilled Japanese Eggplant With Miso Paste Recipes

NASU DENGAKU - MISO GLAZED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Slice eggplant in half and using a knife, score the inside in small squares.
• In a pan over high heat, add oil and put the eggplant skin facing down.
• Cook for a few minute until skin is brown. Turn the eggplant over and cover with a lid. Cook until eggplant is cooked through (about 3 to 4 minutes).
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix miso, mirin, sugar and sake.
• Cover a cooking tray with foil and place the eggplant on top. Brush miso dengaku mix on top of each eggplant until all the surface is coated.
• Put in the oven and broil for 4 minutes. The miso mix should be bubbling when you take it out of the oven.
• Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and serve hot.

MISO-GLAZED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and cut off the stem and calyx. Using the tip of a paring knife, cut an incision down the middle of each half, making sure not to cut through the skin, but cutting down to it. Salt the eggplant lightly and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment and brush with sesame oil.
• Blot the eggplants with paper towels and place, cut side down, on the baking sheets. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin is beginning to shrivel and the flesh is soft. Remove from the oven, carefully turn the eggplants over, and preheat the broiler.
• To make the glaze, combine the mirin and sake in the smallest saucepan you have and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 20 seconds, taking care not to boil off much of the liquid, then turn the heat to low and stir in the miso and the sugar. Whisk over medium-low heat without letting the mixture boil, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sesame oil.
• Brush the eggplants with the miso glaze, using up all of the glaze. Place under the broiler, about 2 inches from the heat, and broil for about 1 minute, until the glaze begins to bubble and looks shiny. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool if desired or serve hot. To serve, cut the eggplant halves on the diagonal into 1- to 1-1/2-inch slices.

MISO EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 180°C / fan 160°C / 350°F / gas mark 4.
• Line a large baking tray with baking parchment and set aside.
• Halve the eggplants lengthways and flip them over. Cut a thin slice off the bottom's skin side in order to stabilise the eggplant.
• Flip it over again and score the flesh in diamond shapes. Be careful not to slice it all the way through.
• Place the eggplants in the lined baking tray and brush each half with half of the oil.
• Bake for 35-40 minutes, checking halfway through to see if more oil is required. I.e. if it looks dry, give it a brush with oil. The eggplant should be soft at the end of cooking time.
• While the eggplants are baking, make the miso sauce.
• Place all the miso sauce ingredients, except the sesame oil, in a small pot and bring to simmer.
• Continue to cook until the miso paste and sugar has dissolved.
• Stir in the sesame oil. Remove the heat and retrieve the eggplants, once cooked.
• Preheat the broiler / grill.
• Baste each eggplant with equal amounts of miso sauce then place under the broiler / grill until caramelised and golden. This will take about 3-4 minutes.
• Decorate with sesame seeds and chives. Serve immediately as a starter. Enjoy!

NASU DENGAKU (GRILLED JAPANESE EGGPLANT WITH MISO PASTE)

Steps:

• For the sauce, whisk the dashi, sugar, mirin, miso and corn starch together. Heat over medium heat stirring until the sauce thickens. Take it off the heat and add the yuzu whisking it in to the sauce.
• For the eggplant, slice them in half lengthwise and score a criss-cross pattern into them to help retain the sauce. Brush with oil and grill on a BBQ or under a broiler until the tops are a dark brown and the eggplant is cooked. Give the sliced sides a good coating of sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds then put under a broiler to get a little caramelization (be careful, this sauce will burn quickly).
• Serve immediately with some rice.

JAPANESE MISO-GLAZED EGGPLANT (NASU NO DENGAKU) RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine mirin, sake, miso, and sugar in a small bowl and stir with a fork until a homogenous paste is formed. Set aside.
• Rub eggplants on all surfaces with vegetable oil. Heat a grill pan or prepare a gas or charcoal grill to high heat. Grill eggplant, cut-side-down until charred grill marks appear, about 1 1/2 minutes. Rotate 45 degrees and cook until checkered hash marks appear, about 1 1/2 minutes longer. Flip and continue cooking until nearly tender, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer eggplant to a large plate and allow to cool slightly.
• Adjust a rack 6-inches from the element and preheat broiler to high heat. Carefully spread the miso glaze on the cut surface of every eggplant. Place on a rimmed baking sheet or foil-lined broiler pan, face up. Broil until completely tender and glaze has begun to caramelize, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions, and serve

NASU DENGAKU (BROILED JAPANESE EGGPLANTS WITH MISO)

Steps:

• Mix sake or wine with sugar and boil for a few minutes.
• Add miso to wine and cook just until miso is mixed in.
• Lightly brush or rub cut side of eggplants with sesame oil.
• Place eggplants cut side down under a broiler on high for 3 minutes.
• Turn eggplant over and broil another 3 minutes.
• Spread sesame mixture thinly over cut side of eggplant and return to broiler for about 1 minute.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle eggplants with sesame seeds and green onion.
• *Note if you have extra miso mixture it's great to add to a stirfry.