One of my absolute favourite ways to cook Eggplant or Aubergine (we call it Eggplant here in the land down under) is with delicious miso paste. Nasu Dengaku is one of those recipes that you will make over and over again and serve it with almost everything. The name literally translates to Eggplant over Fire! Does it get any better than that?
What is Nasu Dengaku?
Nasu Dengaku is halved eggplants which are scored and then brushed with a flavourful paste made with miso, sake (make sure you have cooking sake!), mirin, a pinch of sugar, some garlic and a bit of chilli if you like a bit of heat. It is a lovely sweet and savoury side dish that pairs wonderfully with so many different meals. If you have a grill or BBQ you can absolutely grill the eggplant and develop beautiful smokey flavour. Alternatively, you can roast these in the oven and do what I do with a touch of liquid smoke (this was actually such a good purchase!)
What is Liquid Smoke?
Liquid smoke is a water soluble additive that you can add to your food to add beautiful smokey notes f flavour. You can get liquid smoke flavoured with different woods as well which gives you a really wonderful diverse range of flavour profiles to play with.
The brand I use is Misty Gully which I found at my local organic food store and I absolutely love it.
How to make Nasu Dengaku?
So we start with the eggplant. Cut it half and score using a sharp knife, then sprinkle some salt all over the eggplant flesh. This is a really important step for 2 key reasons. Firstly, this salt will flavour the eggplant and you don’t have to add additional seasoning later. Secondly, this will help draw out all of the water from the eggplant so that you can develop really lovely colour and char on the eggplant flesh. All you have to do is set the salted eggplant aside for at least 10 minutes to 30 minutes with a piece of paper towel over them. This will keep them from going brown and will soak up the moisture.
After resting, press the paper towel into the eggplant gently to soak up all the residual moisture. Now place the eggplant onto a baking tray lined with aluminium foil after massaging some vegetable oil or butter on the skin.
While the eggplant is resting, make the brushing paste and set aside. You need to let the miso paste rest for at least 10 minutes to let the sugar dissolve before using it – otherwise you will end up with some burnt sugar and not in a good way!
So let’s do it!
Nasu Dengaku
Ingredients
- 1 Large Aubergine/Eggplant
- ½ tbsp. Vegetable Oil
- ½ tbsp. Sesame Oil
- 1 clove of garlic
- 1½ tbsp. miso paste
- 1 tbsp cooking sake
- ¼ tsp White sesame seeds
- ⅛ tsp white sugar
- sliced red chilli optional
- 5-8 drops of liquid smoke optional
Instructions
- Pre heat the oven to 180 degrees celcius and prepare a small baking tray with aluminium foil and a bit of oil brushed over it
- Cut the eggplant lengthways in half, then score the flesh by cutting diagonal lines using a knife. Repeat to create lines perpendicular to the ones already created to create a square pattern
- Sprinkle salt over the eggplant flesh and place a paper towel over the it and set aside for 15 minutes
- In the meantime, combine the miso, garlic, mirin, cooking sake, sugar, sesame oil, and half of the vegetable oil or butter. Set this aside to allow the sugar to dissolve
- Once the eggplant has rested, gently press the paper towel into the flesh to soak up any moisture from the eggplant
- Arrange the eggplant in the baking tray and massage the remaining vegetable oil or butter into the skins of the eggplant
- Using a brush, spread the prepared miso paste over the scored flesh. We will be brushing a few times during the process so don't finish all of it!
- Place the eggplant in the oven, and brush over with the miso paste mixture every 10 minutes. There will still be some paste mixture left
- Remove the eggplant from the oven after it has turned golden brown, soft and really fragrant
- If you are using liquid smoke, add it to the remaining miso mixture then brush this all over the hot eggplant and serve fresh! If you are not sing the liquid smoke, simply brush the remaining miso mixture and serve! Top with the sesame seeds and chilli (if using) before serving
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do, and I hope you make it as much I do at home. Be sure to share your photos with me @theminiaturelife on Instagram (but please DM me with the picture because sometimes I cannot see the tags).
As always, Happy eating!
Minal
