Miso-Glazed Eggplant (なす田楽, Nasu Dengaku)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Japanese fish grill, or an oven broiler or toaster oven
• •Heavy skillet
• •Small saucepan
• •Pastry brush, or the back of a spoon

Instructions

1. 1

   Make the glaze

   Put the aka-miso, mirin, sake, sugar, and dashi in a small saucepan. Stir over low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, until the sugar dissolves and the glaze falls from the spoon in a slow ribbon. Keep it below a hard boil. Miso scorches easily, and fierce heat makes it taste sharp just when you want it round.

   The glaze should sit on the eggplant, not run off it. If it tightens too much, loosen it with another teaspoon of dashi.
2. 2

   Score the eggplant

   Trim the tough stem tips, then halve the eggplants lengthwise. Cut a shallow crosshatch into the flesh, about 3mm deep, without cutting through the skin. The cuts let heat and seasoning enter; the uncut skin keeps each piece together. Sprinkle the cut faces lightly with salt and let them stand for 5 minutes, then pat them dry so they brown instead of sweating in the pan.

3. 3

   Sear cut sides

   Heat the oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Lay the eggplants cut-side down and cook for 4 to 5 minutes, until the scored flesh is golden and beginning to soften. Browning the cut face brings out the eggplant's sweetness, so the finished dish tastes of vegetable first and glaze second.

4. 4

   Cook until tender

   Turn the eggplants skin-side down, lower the heat slightly, cover the pan, and cook for 4 to 6 minutes more. A skewer should slide through the thickest part with no resistance, and the cut face should sag a little under its own softness. This is the point to guard: the eggplant must be tender before the miso goes on, because the glaze will brown faster than the flesh can cook.

   If the pan looks dry, add a teaspoon or two of oil around the edges. Eggplant drinks oil greedily at first, then gives back a glossy surface when it softens.
5. 5

   Glaze and broil

   Heat the broiler, or use the grill drawer of a Japanese fish grill if you have one. Move the eggplants cut-side up to a broiler tray and brush the miso glaze over the scored faces, leaving the purple skin mostly clean. Broil for 1 to 3 minutes, watching closely, until the glaze bubbles, shines, and blisters in a few dark spots at the edges. Sugar moves quickly from lacquer to bitter, so this is not the moment to go admire the sink.

6. 6

   Finish with sesame

   Scatter the toasted sesame seeds over the glaze while it is still tacky so they cling. Let the eggplant rest for 2 minutes, then serve warm or at room temperature. Set the pieces off-center on a small plate and leave space around them. The glaze is rich; the plate should stay calm.

Chef Tips

• •Choose eggplants that feel heavy for their size, with taut, glossy purple skin and fresh green caps. If they are dull, wrinkled, or soft at the stem, change the dish. Nothing hidden under miso.
• •Aka-miso gives this version its dark, salty depth. Hatchō miso makes it stronger and more austere; Saikyō miso makes a sweeter Kyoto-style glaze. Both are real choices, but they are not the same plate.
• •Use dashi to loosen the glaze if you have it. For a meatless table, make the dashi from konbu and dried shiitake, the way the temple kitchens do. That is honmono, not a compromise.
• •Cook the eggplant fully before glazing. It sounds like a small order, but it decides the dish: tender first, glaze last.

Advance Preparation

• •The dengaku miso can be made up to 1 week ahead and kept refrigerated. Warm it gently and loosen it with a little dashi before brushing.
• •Dashi keeps 2 days refrigerated. Konbu and dried shiitake dashi is the right foundation for a meatless table.
• •Cut and cook the eggplant close to serving. It will hold for 30 minutes at room temperature, but hard reheating makes the flesh collapse.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 135g)