The Japanese eggplant dish that tastes like it came from a restaurant — and takes less than an hour

Rich, savoury and beautifully caramelised, this Miso Glazed Eggplant is a simple Japanese-inspired dish that delivers restaurant-quality flavour with minimal effort. Tender roasted eggplant is brushed with a sweet and umami-packed miso glaze made from dashi, mirin, sake and miso paste, then finished with sesame seeds for the perfect balance of texture and flavour. Serve it with grilled salmon or as a light vegetarian main alongside rice. You can also team it with this delicious, smashed cucumber salad for an impressive entertaining dish.

Miso Glazed Eggplant (Easy Japanese Nasu Dengaku)

Ingredients

Oil for brushing
2 medium to large eggplant
120ml dashi
2 tbsp mirin
2 tbsp sake
2 tbsp miso
3 tbsp sugar
2 spring onions sliced thinly for garnish
Sesame seeds for garnish

Method

1.        Preheat the oven to 180C
2.        Prepare the eggplant – give the eggplant a good rinse under the tap before slicing the eggplant in half, lengthwise. Then with a knife, make incisions crosses ways into the eggplant – making a crisscross pattern. Brush with oil.
3.        Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper and pop in the oven to bake for 30 – 40 minutes until eggplant is tender.
4.        While eggplant is baking, place dashi, mirin, sake and sugar in a small saucepan and bring to the boil over a medium heat stirring. Once you have reached boiling point remove from heat and add miso – stir to combine. Set aside until eggplant is cooked.
5.        Once the eggplant is tender remove froth oven.
6.        Preheat the grill to a medium heat. While the grill is heating pour over the sauce and sprinkle with spring onions andsesame seeds. Place under the grill for 3-4 minutes until caramelised.
7.        Serve immediately with steamed rice and picked ginger. Also delicious with smashed cucumber salad.

Serves 4

Asian Smashed Cucumber Salad

Ingredients

3 Lebanese cucumbers (or 1 large continental cucumber)
¼ Wombok, shaved
1 tsp sea salt
1 spring onion, finely sliced
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tbsp roasted peanuts or cashews, roughly chopped
Small handful coriander leaves
Optional: thinly sliced red chilli

Dressing

1 tbsp light soy sauce
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp maple syrup or honey
1 tsp fresh lime juice
1 small garlic clove, grated
½ tsp fresh ginger, finely grated
½ tsp chilli crisp for heat (leave this out if you don’t like spice)

Method

After washing your cucumbers, lightly smash them with the side of a knife or rolling pin until split.
Chop into bite-sized chunks.
Place in a bowl and toss with sea salt and leave for 10 minutes to draw out excess water.
Drain well and pat dry lightly.
In another large bowl, place all the dressing ingredients and whisk well.
Drop the smashed cucumber chunks into the bowl with the dressing, along with wombok, spring onion, coriander, and chilli if using – toss well.
Finish with sesame seeds, coriander and chopped nuts just before serving.

Serves 4