Nasu Dengaku Miso Glazed Eggplant Food

NASU DENGAKU - MISO GLAZED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Slice eggplant in half and using a knife, score the inside in small squares.
• In a pan over high heat, add oil and put the eggplant skin facing down.
• Cook for a few minute until skin is brown. Turn the eggplant over and cover with a lid. Cook until eggplant is cooked through (about 3 to 4 minutes).
• Meanwhile, in a bowl, mix miso, mirin, sugar and sake.
• Cover a cooking tray with foil and place the eggplant on top. Brush miso dengaku mix on top of each eggplant until all the surface is coated.
• Put in the oven and broil for 4 minutes. The miso mix should be bubbling when you take it out of the oven.
• Sprinkle sesame seeds on top and serve hot.

JAPANESE MISO-GLAZED EGGPLANT (NASU NO DENGAKU) RECIPE

Steps:

• Combine mirin, sake, miso, and sugar in a small bowl and stir with a fork until a homogenous paste is formed. Set aside.
• Rub eggplants on all surfaces with vegetable oil. Heat a grill pan or prepare a gas or charcoal grill to high heat. Grill eggplant, cut-side-down until charred grill marks appear, about 1 1/2 minutes. Rotate 45 degrees and cook until checkered hash marks appear, about 1 1/2 minutes longer. Flip and continue cooking until nearly tender, about 4 minutes longer. Transfer eggplant to a large plate and allow to cool slightly.
• Adjust a rack 6-inches from the element and preheat broiler to high heat. Carefully spread the miso glaze on the cut surface of every eggplant. Place on a rimmed baking sheet or foil-lined broiler pan, face up. Broil until completely tender and glaze has begun to caramelize, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, sprinkle with sesame seeds and scallions, and serve

MISO GLAZED EGGPLANT (NASU DENGAKU)

Steps:

• Add miso and egg yolk in a small saucepan and mix well using a spatula.
• Add the remaining Dengaku Miso ingredients of your choice and mix well.
• Place the saucepan over medium heat and constantly mix the miso sauce using a spatula.
• When the edge of the miso sauce starts bubbling, reduce the heat to the lowest setting and continue to cook and mix for about 2 minutes until the sauce thickens to the consistency of mayonnaise.
• Turn the heat off and transfer to a bowl or an air tight container. When slightly cooled down, cover with cling wrap/lid and store until required.
• The amount of one type of dengaku miso can serve 8-10 pieces of eggplant (note 4).
• Remove the stem end of the eggplant.
• If you are using one large eggplant, cut it crosswise into 2cm wide discs. There should be about 6 discs. Do not use the round end of the eggplant. If using two small eggplants, cut each of them vertically into half.
• While working on each piece of eggplant, keep the rest in a bowl filled with water. This will prevent the flesh of the eggplant from getting brownish.
• Score the eggplant flesh at 1cm intervals as far as you can without cutting through to the other side. Then score again perpendicular to the first cuts (if discs) or to make diamonds (if vertically cut eggplants).
• Run a knife around the eggplant shape, just inside of skin.
• Add the eggplant pieces and the oil in a bowl and thoroughly coat them with the oil.
• Heat a non-stick frypan over medium heat. Hold the eggplant pieces in a bowl and drain the oil into the frypan if any oil is accumulated at the bottom of the bowl.
• Place the eggplant pieces in the pan, scored side down and cook for 2 minutes.
• Turn them over and cook further 2 minutes. The eggplant flesh should become quite soft but if the thick part of the eggplant is not soft yet, place a lid on and cook further 30 seconds to 1 minute.
• Turn eggplant pieces over and transfer them onto a serving plate.
• Drop ⅓ or ½ tablespoon (note 4) of dengaku miso on each piece of eggplant and spread the miso over the entire surface of the eggplant.
• For dark miso, sprinkle white sesame seeds over the top (if using). Grate lime rind (or sprinkle dried seaweed flakes) over white miso.
• Serve while warm.

MISO GLAZED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F (260 C).
• Cut the eggplant in half lengthwise and then use a sharp knife to cut a border around the outside perimeter of the cut surfaces about 1/2-inch deep.
• Add 1/2 deep slits in a cross-hatch pattern to the center of the cut surfaces of the eggplant.
• Drizzle the cut surfaces of the eggplant with most of the oil and rub it in with your fingers. Next, drizzle any remaining oil onto the skin side and rub it in.
• Place the eggplant cut-side up on a baking tray and roast the eggplant until it's tender and medium brown on top (15-20 minutes).
• While the eggplant is roasting, add the miso and sugar to the mirin and mix until it's smooth and free of lumps.
• When it's done, remove the eggplant from the oven and slather a generous layer of miso glaze onto the cut surfaces of the eggplant, being sure to get it into all of the crevices as well.
• Put the pan back into the oven to let the glaze caramelize (an additional 5-7 minutes. Be careful not to burn the glaze.
• When the dengaku sauce has caramelized, remove the pan from the oven and garnish with the sesame seeds and chopped scallions. Serve the miso-glazed eggplant immediately.

NASU DENGAKU (BROILED JAPANESE EGGPLANTS WITH MISO)

Steps:

• Mix sake or wine with sugar and boil for a few minutes.
• Add miso to wine and cook just until miso is mixed in.
• Lightly brush or rub cut side of eggplants with sesame oil.
• Place eggplants cut side down under a broiler on high for 3 minutes.
• Turn eggplant over and broil another 3 minutes.
• Spread sesame mixture thinly over cut side of eggplant and return to broiler for about 1 minute.
• Remove from oven and sprinkle eggplants with sesame seeds and green onion.
• *Note if you have extra miso mixture it's great to add to a stirfry.

NASU DENGAKU (GRILLED JAPANESE EGGPLANT WITH MISO PASTE)

Steps:

• For the sauce, whisk the dashi, sugar, mirin, miso and corn starch together. Heat over medium heat stirring until the sauce thickens. Take it off the heat and add the yuzu whisking it in to the sauce.
• For the eggplant, slice them in half lengthwise and score a criss-cross pattern into them to help retain the sauce. Brush with oil and grill on a BBQ or under a broiler until the tops are a dark brown and the eggplant is cooked. Give the sliced sides a good coating of sauce, sprinkle with sesame seeds then put under a broiler to get a little caramelization (be careful, this sauce will burn quickly).
• Serve immediately with some rice.

MISO-GLAZED EGGPLANT

Steps:

• Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise and cut off the stem and calyx. Using the tip of a paring knife, cut an incision down the middle of each half, making sure not to cut through the skin, but cutting down to it. Salt the eggplant lightly and let sit for 10 minutes. Meanwhile preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil or parchment and brush with sesame oil.
• Blot the eggplants with paper towels and place, cut side down, on the baking sheets. Roast for 15 to 20 minutes, until the skin is beginning to shrivel and the flesh is soft. Remove from the oven, carefully turn the eggplants over, and preheat the broiler.
• To make the glaze, combine the mirin and sake in the smallest saucepan you have and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil 20 seconds, taking care not to boil off much of the liquid, then turn the heat to low and stir in the miso and the sugar. Whisk over medium-low heat without letting the mixture boil, until the sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat and whisk in the sesame oil.
• Brush the eggplants with the miso glaze, using up all of the glaze. Place under the broiler, about 2 inches from the heat, and broil for about 1 minute, until the glaze begins to bubble and looks shiny. Remove from the heat. Allow to cool if desired or serve hot. To serve, cut the eggplant halves on the diagonal into 1- to 1-1/2-inch slices.