This is one of the first Japanese recipes I learned how to make when I moved to the US for university and was very far from home, and it is often still the dish I will make for someone unfamiliar with Japanese home cooking, because it is an instant winner – it has been my husband’s favourite dish ever since I first made it for him. The silky eggplant (aubergine) together with the intensely flavourful, sweet miso sauce is just unforgettable. Nasu dengaku is commonly used to top tofu and other vegetables like daikon – the tofu is usually cut in a rectangle and skewered, then grilled. Personally, I also love this as a dip for crunchy cucumber sticks and if there is any sauce left over that’s usually what I do with it.
You can eat nasu dengaku as a side dish, in which case this is enough for four to share, or turn it into a meal on its own with a crunchy, zingy cabbage salad for two. In either case, you always need a bowl of freshly steamed rice nearby as a foil to the richness of this wonderful dish.
Read our interview with Emiko Davies here. Order her book, GOHAN: Everyday Japanese Cooking is available here.
Nasu Dengaku Miso Eggplant
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant, aubergine
- vegetable oil, for frying
- 2 tablespoons brown miso
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 2 teaspoons sugar, I like raw demerara/ turbinado sugar here
- sesame seeds or finely chopped spring
- onion, scallion (green parts only)
Instructions
- Cut the eggplant in half lengthways, then score the flesh in a criss-cross pattern about 2 cm (¾ in) wide to make it easier to eat with chopsticks.
- I also like to trim a small (5 mm/¼ in) section of the skin on the bottom so that the eggplant doesn’t wobble and sits flat.
- Heat a 1–2 cm (½–¾ in) depth of vegetable oil in a frying pan (skillet) and fry the eggplant halves until they become deep brown and tender, about 3 minutes on each side. Frying is the secret to the silky texture. Remove carefully from the oil and let drain on a wire rack.
- Heat the grill (broiler) element of your oven (or heat the oven to 220ºC/ 430°F/gas 8 if you don’t have this function).
- Mix the miso, soy sauce, mirin and sugar together to a smooth paste and warm in a small saucepan to dissolve the sugar. If it is too thick, add a splash of water to loosen a little and mix until smooth, then remove from the heat.
- Place the eggplants with the criss-cross sides up on a baking tray and cover with a thick coating of the miso mixture, about 1–2 tablespoons. Place under the grill (broiler) until the miso paste is bubbling around the edges, about 2–3 minutes (if using the oven to roast, place the tray on the top shelf and bake for several minutes or until the miso paste begins to bubble and brown slightly).
- Serve sprinkled with toasted sesame seeds or finely chopped spring onions.
GOHAN: Everyday Japanese Cooking by Emiko Davies (Smith Street Books, £26) Photography: Yuki Sugiura