Miso-Glazed Aubergine (Nasu Dengaku)
This Japanese inspired miso-glazed aubergine (Nasu Dengaku) is packed full of umami flavours. Aubergine (eggplant) glazed with rich miso based sauce and roasted in the oven until soft and melt in the mouth delicious.
Servings 2 servings
Calories 254kcal
Ingredients
- 2 aubergines (eggplants)
- 2 tablespoon brown or white miso
- 1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
- 1 tablespoon tahini or your favourite natural nut butter
- 1 tablespoon rice vinegar or mirin
- 1 teaspoon sesame oil
- 1.5 tsp maple syrup or to taste
- 1-2 tablespoon sesame seeds if using toasted ones, sprinkle them over aubergine after baking
- spring onions to serve
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180C(fan)/350F/Gas Mark 4.
- Wash and dry aubergines (eggplants) and cut them in half lengthwise leaving the top intact (mostly for presentation).
- Next, using a sharp knife, score each half of the aubergine with criss cross incisions. They should be deep but not all the way through as to cut the skin. Repeat with all remaining aubergine halves.
- In a small bowl mix/whisk together miso, soy sauce/tamari, tahini, rice vinegar, sesame oil and maple syrup (or other sweetener of choice).
- Mix them until you get nice and glossy glaze (consistency of natural peanut butter).
- Line the baking sheet with some greaseproof paper and place scored aubergine halves on top.
- Using pastry brush or a spoon brush/spread miso glaze generously over all the aubergine halves, making sure you get miso mixture into all the incisions.
- Sprinkle over some sesame seeds and bake in the preheated oven for 30-40 minutes until aubergine (eggplant) halves collapse and brown on top and the flesh is really soft and squidgy.
- Serve immediately with plenty of sliced spring onions on top and enjoy!
Notes
- Nutritional information is approximate, per serving based on two servings and should be treated as a rough guideline only.
- Serve simply with rice, noodles or your favourite steamed greens. Plenty of sliced green onions work great as garnish.
- Best eaten straight away but leftover can be kept in the fridge for up to 3 days and reheated in the oven or microwave.
- Not recommended for freezing.
- Don't cut through the skin of aubergines when scoring the flesh. You want to make pretty deep incisions but leave skin intact.
- Adjust roasting/baking time to the size of your aubergines/eggplants. I used standard ones here hence 30-40 minutes baking time but if you use smaller or baby ones the timing will be reduced.
- Use toasted sesame seeds or toast them yourself in a dry pan and garnish your aubergines after baking instead.
Nutrition
Calories: 254kcal | Carbohydrates: 38g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 1150mg | Potassium: 1169mg | Fiber: 16g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 126IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 108mg | Iron: 3mg