Miso-Glazed Eggplant

This Miso-Glazed Eggplant recipe is a take on Nasu Dengaku, which is a traditional Japanese miso-glazed eggplant. The only difference is in this recipe, I use a few of my favorite Indonesian ingredients to get a sweet, spicy, and caramelized sauce on top. I like to think of it as combining Nasu Dengaku from Japanese culture, and a bit of Nasi Goreng flair from Indonesia. Both these cuisines deserve to be celebrated in their own right, and I’m grateful they paved the way for this delicious eggplant recipe!

Japanese miso-glazed eggplant was one of the first things people told me to try when I uttered the (unthinkable) phrase, “I don’t like eggplant.” As I researched more about Nasu Dengaku and how to prepare it, I knew this method would have me hooked. I’ll talk more about the Japanese preparation below, but this recipe takes a few liberties. I changed the sauces to add in the Indonesian ingredients I mentioned above and then added a double-cooking process. But even with the double cooking, this recipe is still ultra-simple and comes out in less than 20 minutes.

If you’re not an eggplant person, this recipe just might be your sign to try it.

What is Nasu Dengaku?

Nasu Dengaku is a classic Japanese side dish made with eggplant sliced in half, scored and brushed with a sweet and savory miso glaze. It translates to mean “eggplant grilled over a fire,” which is traditionally how it was made. But as I’ve researched I’ve seen various preparations of it, ranging from cooks roasting it in the oven to pan-frying the eggplant for a quick result.

This type of method has been in Japan since the 1500s, and like most foods, it can vary from region to region. This recipe is heavily inspired by Miso Dengaku, with a few Indonesian influences added, but it makes an amazing eggplant and is truly one of the best methods I’ve tried!

How does this recipe compare to traditional miso glazed eggplant?

This recipe is heavily inspired by traditional Japanese miso-glazed eggplant, but it differs slightly in ingredients and cooking techniques.

I opted to use kecap manis and sambal oelek for this recipe because together they create a thick, delicious sauce that is perfect for clinging to surfaces like eggplant. In other recipes the sauce tends to be thinner, making it easier to glaze and roast the eggplant for a long duration of time.

Since we are double-roasting this eggplant, first at a lower temperature and then in the broiler, I wanted the sauce to be thick enough to caramelize and sweet enough to get crisp. And that’s why kecap manis (sweet soy sauce) completely fit the bill.

Ingredients for this miso-glazed eggplant

When adding in my two favorite sauces, I cut the ingredients list way down for this recipe. Here is everything you’ll need:

• 1 large eggplant
• 1/4 cup kecap manis
• 1/4 cup sambal oelek
• 1 tablespoon white miso paste
• 2 cloves garlic, finely grated

FOR TOPPINGS:

• 1/2 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 scallion stalk chopped

How to prepare this miso eggplant

Preparation for this recipe is simple. I’ll leave more tips and tricks below, but for the actual recipe, all you need to do is:

• Preheat the oven to 375°F.
• Cut the top off the eggplant and then slice it in half. Score it diagonally, see blog photos for reference. You want these scores to be deep, enough that you can stretch apart the eggplant and see the indents, but not far enough that the eggplant falls apart.
• In a small bowl mix together the kecap manis, sambal oelek, miso paste and grated garlic.
• Using a brush, brush each half of the eggplant with about 2/3 of the sauce mixture. Make sure to get it deep in the crevasses so the eggplant is completely coated.
• Roast the eggplant glaze-side-up for 15 minutes at 375°F. Remove it from the oven and change the oven to broil on high.
• Add another layer of glaze on the eggplants, about the remaining amount of the sauce.
• Broil the eggplants for another 5-7 minutes, or until the sauce is sizzling, caramelized and very dark.
• Remove from the oven, top with scallions and sesame seeds and then scoop out the eggplant pieces as you like!

Tips & tricks for getting the perfect results

This recipe all comes down to timing and how you handle the eggplant. Here are a few things I recommend you don’t forget as you make miso-glazed eggplant for the first time:

• Make sure to cut your crevasses deep in the eggplant – there are a lot of recipes that require you to lightly score an eggplant. This is to release moisture as it cooks, as well as let the eggplant expand to cook evenly. In this recipe we are scoring so that the sauce can get deep inside the eggplant, helping simultaneously cook the eggplant, while also making it flavorful and delicious. So don’t forget to score deep!
• Fill the eggplant with all the sauce – there might be a lot of glaze in this recipe, but it’s for a reason! The sauce will get caramelized at the top of the eggplant, and juicy and thin at the bottom. It adds to the recipe ten-fold, so don’t skimp when you brush it on the eggplant. I also recommend using a brush to make sure you get in all the areas of the eggplant.
• When in doubt, underbake in the first round – we are baking the eggplant twice, so to avoid it being mushy, I always will stay on the more lenient side during the first baking session. If you think your oven runs hot, maybe bake the eggplant for a little less time during the first round. This is to make it so you get the perfect miso glazed eggplant texture every time!

Looking for other vegetable-forward recipes?

Here are a few of my favorites – all super simple, all super vegetable-forward:

And that’s it for this Miso-Glazed Eggplant!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you.