Miso-glazed eggplant is a tender roasted delight, made even more delectable with a sweet, salty, umami-filled glaze.
What is miso?
A key ingredient in Japanese cuisine, miso is typically a cultured mixture of soybeans, a grain (like rice or barley), salt, and koji (a mold). In general, miso that’s imported into the United States is divided into 2 categories—light (or white or sweet) miso and dark (or red) miso. If you just can’t decide which miso to choose, give awase a try—a mixture of more than one miso. With over 1,000 kinds of miso paste, it can be difficult to decide. While they can be sometimes used interchangeably, a good rule of thumb is that the deeper the color, the stronger the taste. Sometimes much stronger.
Miso-Glazed Eggplant
Ingredients
- For the eggplant
- For the glaze
Directions
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C).
Score the flesh side of eggplant halves in a criss-cross pattern and place in a baking dish. Rub salt over the flesh and let rest for 10 minutes. After resting, use a paper towel to blot any salt and water that has exuded from the eggplant.
In a small bowl, whisk the glaze ingredients together.
Generously brush the glaze over the scored eggplant, reserving about 1/3 glaze. Roast until the flesh takes on a bronzed color, and yields easily when poked with a fork, 35 to 45 minutes.
Brush more glaze over top, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, cilantro, and scallion.
Recipe Testers' Reviews
When you're in a rush, yet want an amazing dinner, miso-glazed eggplant is it. Perfect for the vegan and meat-eater alike as this is so satisfying. Quick and easy. I used the typical Italian eggplant which is what we grow at our farm and it weighed 140 grams. For the salt, I used Algarvian coarse sea salt. As I didn't have much sugar at home, I decided to use a new maple syrup that Aldi sells here in Portugal.
After adding the salt, I used that time to create the glaze as well as to prepare the rest of the ingredients. Once the 10 minutes had passed, there was no water, though the eggplant was pretty wet. I removed the excess salt from the eggplant. I ended up using 3/4 of the glaze and used the rest for a quick stir fry I was making with other veggies (which came out fantastic). After 20 minutes, the eggplants were indeed ready, so if using smaller eggplants, I would advise to start keeping an eye after 10 minutes.
I served simply with brown rice and other farm veggies cut julienne style and stir-fried with the leftover glaze. I believe one eggplant is the right amount per person.
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Nadine Bonda
I like eggplant okay, particularly eggplant parmesan. I'm usually not a great fan. But this miso-glazed eggplant dish is fabulous and I will make it again and again. It's so flavorful and the scallions add just a little bit of heat to it.
The eggplant itself was a little firm and the skin was delicious. And to top it off, it was very easy to make and took no time at all.