This Miso Eggplant recipe is incredibly tasty and even more incredibly easy to make. 5 ingredients, one of them (ginger) is optional. I usually have the glaze ingredients on hand. Whenever I walk past the eggplants in the produce section, I always grab a few for a quick dish.
You can use any type of eggplant you can find, they all work perfectly fine. I prefer to use long eggplants over round ones. They are easier to pan fry and a lot easier to transfer to the toaster oven. Whatever you have on hand or whatever you can find at the store will definitely work this eggplant recipe.
HOW TO CHOOSE EGGPLANTS
Fortunately it is very easy to pick a good eggplant. Unlike watermelon, which takes a bit of know-how, some heavy lifting, and maybe some knocking. Eggplants don’t require much. If it looks shiny, wrinkle free and firm, then you’ve got yourself a good one. My rule of thumb is: if it looks and feels fresh, it is fresh.
HOW TO MAKE MISO EGGPLANT
Add all the glaze ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Cut the eggplant lengthwise so you have 2 halves, each piece will be half skin and half flesh. Pan fry both sides of your sliced eggplants with a bit of oil. I prefer a non-stick pan, but any pan you have will be fine. You may need a generous amount of oil if you are using a cast iron pan. Fry both sides over medium/high heat until the eggplant is lightly brown, soft and cooked through. Transfer the eggplant to a foil lined baking tray, skin side down.
Brush a generous amount of the glaze on the eggplants. Make sure the entire top is covered with the miso glaze. Broil in a toaster or oven at 400 degrees for 2-3 minutes. Keep an eye on it. You want the glaze to firm up but not burn. There is sugar in the glaze and it will go from firm to burnt pretty quickly.
Hope you enjoy this eggplant recipe! Here's another one of my favorite Chinese eggplant recipes.
Ingredients
- 3-5 eggplants, sliced lengthwise
Glaze
- 1 tablespoon miso paste
- 1 tablespoon mirin
- 1 teaspoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon grated ginger, optional
Instructions
- Combine all the basting sauce ingredients in a small bowl. Mix until the sugar is dissolved.
- Heat about 1 tablespoon oil in a frying pan over medium-high heat, non-stick works the best.
- If you eggplants are long you can cut them in half to fit your pan. Add your eggplant, cut side down and fry until it is nicely brown, about 2-4 minutes.
- Flip to the skin side down and fry the until eggplant is cook through. You can tell when it becomes tender.
- Carefully transfer it, skin side down to a foil lined baking tray.
- Using a basting brush, generously brush the sauce over the eggplant.
- Broil at 400 degrees F until the sauce begins to thicken and caramelize, about 2-3 minutes.
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