Easy Breezy Miso Glazed Eggplant
While most normal Americans seem to crave carby, cheesy foods like pizza or pasta (don’t get me wrong, I love these food items too!) I almost always crave salty Asian dishes, such as some sort of noodle soup, stir fry, curry or the oddly specific, but consistently good Japanese specialty: miso glazed eggplant. Ordering it whenever I see it on a menu, wondering every single time how hard that must be to make at home, I usually entertain the thought for about 10 seconds before scarfing down this surprisingly simple, yet flavor-packed veggie dish.
As quarantine life has become the new normal, with all but essential businesses closed for the foreseeable future due to the novel COVID-19 virus, grocery store shopping has become my new favorite weekly adventure. With so much time on my hands, no one to see, nowhere to go, and no job to do, cooking has become my latest and greatest joy, and it has been an absolute blast learning how to cook some of my favorite dishes from around the world, no matter how seemingly complex I used to assume them to be.
Attempting to come up with a different, unique and healthy dish to make each night of the week (no repeats!), all from different regions and cuisines throughout the world, I figured it was about time to finally give my all-time-favorite miso-glazed eggplant a shot. And, much to my surprise, it has been one of the easiest and most rewarding things I’ve made… ever! With just a few simple and common ingredients, an oven, and a love for Japanese food, this eggplant dish is sure to win anyone over.
Prep Time: 20 minutes | Cook Time: 10 minutes | Yields 2 servings | Appetizer
Ingredients
1 large eggplant
Kosher salt or sea salt
2 tbsp of miso paste
1 tbsp sugar
red chili flakes (to taste)
rice vinegar (a splash)
sesame seeds (optional)
Directions
Line a baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper and place the eggplant halves (split vertically) flesh side up. Salt the eggplant thoroughly and let it sit for about 15 minutes.
While you are waiting for the salted eggplant to exude water (to instill the eggplant cooks as thoroughly as it can!), place a rack about 4 inches from the broiler (if there’s not one there already) and preheat the broiler to 500 degrees F (if you have an electric oven).
In a small bowl mix together the miso paste, sugar, chili flakes and rice vinegar. Add a little bit of water if it’s too thick.
Once the 15 minutes are up, score the flesh of the eggplants a few times up each piece with the tip of a knife, and flip the eggplant halves around so they’re skin side up. Broil for about 5 minutes.
Once the skin is lightly browned and soft, flip the halves so they’re flesh side up. With a glaze brush, brush the glaze thoroughly onto each piece and broil flesh side up for an additional 5 minutes, or until the glaze is bubbly and starting to brown.
Take the eggplant out of the oven and add more glaze, if you desire. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, serve and enjoy!