Those who follow me here at Hive know that I am an eggplant enthusiast. To be honest, I can't understand how some people don't like this vegetable! Ok, I know that eggplant does have its share of bitterness. But this doesn't mean that it can't become a joker ingredient that brings a lot of flavor to dishes.
As an eggplant fan, I use eggplant in many different preparations. However, I must say that among all the recipes I have tried, nothing compares to miso-glazed eggplant, or simply nasu dengaku, as they say in Japan. Very common in some Japanese restaurants, this eggplant is so delicious and fantastic that I am sure even those who don't like it will be surprised. So my friend, give eggplant a second chance and try this recipe. I bet you will repeat the dish and completely change your opinion about its bitterness.
Let's get to the kitchen?
Ingredients (2 persons)
Like most oriental dishes, this eggplant is very easy to make and does not require much cooking time. Therefore, it's ideal for that dinner that needs to be done quickly, or even for lunch when you're running late.
To make your miso-glazed eggplant you will need
2 eggplants
4 tablespoons of toasted sesame oil
scallion
1 tbsp. miso paste
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 Tbsp rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
If you want, you can replace the rice vinegar with sake, but since I didn't have sake at home, I went with vinegar which also imparts acidity. But don't worry, it's delicious just the same.
In oriental cooking, they don't use olive oil, but if you don't have toasted sesame oil, you can substitute it for olive oil when frying the eggplant.
Directions
Preparing this eggplant is very, very easy! Start by heating up a frying pan. We will need it very hot so that the eggplant cooks and at the same time gets that smoked flavor.
While the skillet is heating up, cut the eggplants in half and then make diagonal cuts. These cuts serve so that the sauce we are going to prepare is completely absorbed by the eggplant, giving it an incredible flavor.
If I were to prepare this eggplant only fried in the frying pan, at this stage I would add salt to remove some of its bitterness. However, here, since the soy sauce already has a lot of salt in it, we are just going to pass on toasted sesame oil.
After properly cutting the eggplants, it's time to prepare a little sauce. Combine in a pan the soy sauce, miso, sugar, and vinegar and mix it on lower heat. The idea here is to get a very thick sauce to spread over the eggplant.
Now it's time to fry the eggplant. Put a little more sesame oil in the frying pan and put the eggplant upside down. After 3 minutes turn them upside down. Turn them in again and brush them with the sauce. Cover the pan with a lid.
You will see that the sauce will caramelize quite a bit forming a sort of glazed film.
Some people do this final step in the oven, i.e. take the pan out and put it back in the preheated oven. I don't have an oven, and I think that the pan, as long as it is very hot, does the same job.
To serve, sprinkle with lots of chives! Wow, it's mouth-watering! You can serve this eggplant with rice and it's a super meal, it doesn't even look like it was made that fast!
This eggplant is simply sensational and this recipe is worth trying!
Hope you enjoyed it and see you next time!
