Miso Glazed Eggplant Rice Bowl (Nasu Dengaku)
My all time favourite way to eat eggplant!
What sort of plant based food blog would I be if I didn't include an eggplant recipe? It seems many people associate eggplants with vegetarian cooking or think of it as a good alternative to meat. So often the plant based options on a menu involve either eggplants or mushrooms, much to the annoyance of a vegetarian friend of mine who hates both!
Whilst I like eggplant, I admit I am not crazy about them. Except baba ganoush. I am crazy about that. To be honest I hate the skin! I'm a bit embarrassed to admit that, I feel like a fussy kid! I tend to favour recipes that require you to remove the skin (like baba ganoush), or in the case of this recipe, you just scoop the eggplant flesh out and leave the skin for the compost - where it belongs in my opinion! Sorry to any eggplant skin lovers out there.....do such people actually exist?
Anyway, nasu dengaku is definitely my favourite eggplant recipe. I still remember my first bite at a Japanase restaurant and it instantly blew my mind. Sweet, salty and with a touch of caramelisation.....perfection. So of course I set about learning how to make this at home. And I am happy to report that it is pretty damn easy. The sauce is so simple, and whilst the eggplant requires a bit of care, you don't need to be a pro to nail this dish and impress your friends.
I have tried cooking the eggplant a number of ways including deep frying and baking, but find the combo of pan frying and grilling gives the best result. If you really can't be bothered with the two step cooking process you can just bake the eggplant covered in the miso sauce in the oven for about 30 minutes before turning the oven up to grill. But I encourage you to give the method mentioned below a try!
Nasu dengaku is traditionally served as a snack at Japanese restaurants and Izakaya – it goes down very well with a cold beer! But I love serving it as main meal, so this recipe includes rice, greens and some edamame for protein. You could also use tofu instead of edamame.
Miso Glazed Eggplant Rice Bowl (Nasu Dengaku)
Prep time: 45 minutes plus an extra 30 minutes to salt the eggplants
Makes: 2 large servings or 4 smaller servings
Dietary guideline: This is vegan and gluten free. For a FODMAP friendly adaptation see the end of the recipe.
Ingredients
2 large eggplants
1 cup of brown rice
1 tablespoon of sesame oil
2 cups of baby spinach
2 bok choy or 1 bunch of broccolini or other green vegetable
1 cup of frozen shelled edamame beans
2 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 tablespoon of toasted white sesame seeds
1 tablespoon of chopped green spring onion
1 handful of coriander (optional)
For the miso sauce
4 tablespoons of miso (I recommend shiro or white miso)
2 tablespoon and 2 teaspoons of sugar
2 tablespoon of mirin (I recommend Kikkoman Manjo Mirin)
4 tablespoons of sake or cooking rice wine
4 tablespoons of water
1 teaspoon of grated ginger
½ teaspoon of vegan dashi powder such as shitake (optional)
Method
Cut the eggplant lengthwise in half (do not remove the stem) and sprinkle the flesh side generously with salt. Let it sit for one hour to extract the bitter juices.You should see water droplets forming.
Meanwhile make the sauce. Combine all the ingredient in a saucepan and cook over a medium heat for about 10-15 minutes stirring occasionally to cook out the raw alcohol and raw ginger flavour. Add more water if it gets too thick but the idea is to reduce it to the thickness of a caramel. Taste and adjust if needed i.e. add more sugar if you like it sweeter. Set aside.
Bring the rice and 4 cups of water to the boil in a saucepan, turn down to a simmer and drain into a sieve when ready. Place the sieve over the still warm pot and put the lid on – this will keep the rice warm until needed and ensure it's not too wet when you serve it.
When the eggplant have sat for an hour, use a damp towel to thoroughly wipe the salt and water droplets off the eggplants. Using a small sharpe knife to cut a diamond pattern into the eggplant flesh being careful not to pierce the skin.
Pre-heat your oven (220 degrees Celsius) using the grill function.
Heat 1 ½ tablespoon of the vegetable oil in a large frypan over medium heat. Place the eggplant skin side down into the hot pan, cover with a lid and cook for about 6-7 minutes. If you cant fit all the eggplants in the frypan in one go, do this step in two batches. Flip the eggplant over (add a little more oil if the pan is dry) and give the eggplant a gently push with a spatula. This helps ensure the eggplant flesh browns evenly. Place the lid back on and cook for another 3-4 minutes or until the eggplant has taken on a dark golden colour – you will need to life up the eggplant and have a few peeks until it's the right colour. .
Place the eggplant halves on a lined baking tray flesh side up. Generously coat the flesh with the miso sauce using a pastry brush or spoon (you should still be left with some extra sauce – leave it in the saucepan). Place the eggplant under the grill and cook for about 7-10 minutes or until a dark golden colour. Check the eggplant regularly after the 5 minute mark to make sure it doesn't burn.
Meanwhile stir fry your choice of greens (not the spinach) over high heat with the sesame oil. You still want them a little crunchy so only briefly cook the vegetables. Turn off the heat, add the spinach, stir and let the residual heat wilt the spinach. Cook the edamame in a small pot of boiling water for a few minutes.
To assemble, warm the leftover miso sauce adding a little water to make it easier to pour. Place the rice into bowls, add the vegetables and edamame, drizzle over some of the extra miso sauce and top with the eggplants. Garnish with the sesame seeds, chopped spring onion and coriander. Enjoy!
Note: you are not expected to eat the eggplant skin but by all means do if you desire.
FODMAP friendly adaptation: Halve the amount of edamame and you may need to limit yourself to one eggplant depending on how well you tolerate it (Monash recommends 1 cup of eggplant is safe) .
