Author Notes
Over Easter we raided the parent's veggie garden- we picked tomatoes, butternut squash, figs, and the most wonderfully sweet eggplants we’ve ever had. We decided to make our version of one of my favourite eggplant dishes- miso eggplant. Our version is full of ginger and chili, which isn’t necessarily traditional, but it’s our favourite way to do it. —boymeetsgirlmeetsfood
Ingredients
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4
japanese eggplants, halved or one large eggplant, thickly sliced
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1 teaspoon
each black & white sesame seeds, toasted
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2 inch
knob of ginger, grated
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2/3 cup
mirin
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1/3 cup
red miso paste
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3 tablespoons
brown sugar (to taste- some people prefer more sugar so be sure to taste the sauce as you go)
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2
birds eye chillies, finely chopped (to taste)
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fresh cilantro, to serve
Directions
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Preheat oven to 190C.
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Cut eggplants in half length-wise, and lightly score. Brush the eggplants with sesame oil and pop into the over to roast for 8 minutes- if your eggplants are slightly larger than ours, you probably need to keep them in the oven for closer to ten minutes.
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While the eggplants are roasting, prepare your sauce. Begin by combining the mirin, chili and ginger in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. You want to allow the mirin to reduce almost by half- it will cook away and the chilli becomes beautifully sticky and jammy.
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Next, add in the miso bit by bit so that it doesn’t get too clumpy in the sauce, and then add the sugar. Mix everything vigorously, and once it’s well combined, reduce the heat to low and let the sauce thicken up a bit.
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Once the eggplants are done (they should be slightly soft to the touch but still retain their shape), remove them from the oven and change the oven setting to ‘broil’.
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Generously brush the eggplant with the miso sauce (I use a BBQ brush for this, which does the job nicely) and pop them back in the oven to broil for four minutes, or until the miso dressing can be seen happily bubbling away atop the eggplant.
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After four minutes, remove the eggplant from the oven. Sprinkle the eggplant with sesame seeds and coriander, and serve immediately. We served ours as part of a big salad bowl with kale, broccolini and chicken, but the eggplant is beautiful with other veggies, as part of a rice bowl or with seafood.
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