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Home Asian Recipes

Grilled Miso Glazed Japanese Eggplant

By:Nagi
Published:16 Jul '14Updated:14 Sep '20
28 Comments
Recipe v

This Miso Glazed Japanese Eggplant is a great example of how simple modern Asian cooking can be. I’ve taken a traditional Japanese recipe, thickened the sauce to use it as a glaze and cooked it on the outdoor grill. It is so easy and fast, but the flavours will knock your socks off.

Miso and eggplant is a gorgeous combination of flavours, and by caramelising the glaze it really takes this to another level.

Melt-in-your-mouth eggplant with an incredible caramelised miso glazed. So simple and fast to make. #grilling #BBQ #barbecue #vegan #vegetarian

Miso Glazed Japanese Eggplant

It always amazes me how the simplest of recipes can have such an incredible depth of flavour. This is one such dish. This recipe is based on a traditional Japanese eggplant dish called Dengaku Miso Eggplant. The traditional way of making this in Japan is to drape the eggplant in the miso sauce, which is a thinner version of the Miso Glaze in this recipe (I’ve included directions to turn the recipe into a sauce).

Miso and eggplant is an awesome combination of flavours. If you haven’t tried it before, you’re in for a treat. I’ve put a summer spin on this traditional dish by making it a glaze and grilling it. This creates a melt-in-your-mouth eggplant with an incredible caramelisation that I wish I could bottle up and snack on. By cooking it on the grill you get the added benefit of the smokiness, but you can also pan fry it.

There are two important things to remember when making this:

1. Cook over medium heat. Otherwise you’ll burn the eggplant before the inside is cooked. And uncooked eggplant is one of the most disappointing things in life – you know when you bite into a big hunk of eggplant, expecting it to be melting and gooey inside but instead it’s like biting into a hard sponge? Ew.

2. It caramelises quickly so don’t leave the grill once you flip the glazed side over! It will only take 30 seconds to 1 minute, depending on how hot your grill is.

This Miso Glazed Japanese Eggplant is such a great meaty vegetarian grilling recipe! Serve it as a main or as a side. Enjoy! – Nagi x


More ways with eggplant

  • Greek Moussaka (Eggplant Beef Bake) – the Greek version of Italian lasagna, made with layers of eggplant instead of pasta sheets. Epic!

  • Moroccan Baked Eggplant with Beef – smeared with spices, baked until soft and topped with Moroccan spiced beef

  • Grilled Eggplant with Yoghurt Sauce – simple and fabulous!

  • Middle Eastern Roasted Eggplant with Couscous – slathered with Middle Eastern price rub and roasted until tender

  • Eggplant is also commonly used in Thai Red and Green Curry

Melt-in-your-mouth eggplant with an incredible caramelised miso glazed. So simple and fast to make. #grilling #BBQ #barbecue #vegan #vegetarian

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Grilled Miso Glazed Japanese Eggplant

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 5 mins
Cook: 10 mins
Total: 15 mins
Barbecue, BBQ, Grilling
Asian, Japanese
5 from 7 votes
Servings4 -6
Tap or hover to scale
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Miso and eggplant is a gorgeous combination of flavours. If you've never tried it before, you're in for a treat. The traditional Japanese way of making this is not grilled, it is served with the eggplant sautéed and draped with a miso sauce which is simply a thinner version of the miso glaze (see notes for directions). By grilling this, you get an incredible caramelisation which I find irresistible, while the inside is melt-in-your-mouth. This dish can be cooked on the barbecue or on stove top, though I really encourage you to try it on the grill if you can because the smokey flavours really make this something special.

Ingredients

  • 6 Japanese eggplants , halved lengthwise
  • 3 tbsp canola oil (or vegetable oil)

Miso Glaze

  • 1/4 cup white miso ("Shire Miso)
  • 2 tbsp Mirin
  • 1 tbsp Sake (Japanese cooking wine)
  • 1 tbsp sugar

Garnish

  • 1 shallot/scallion finely sliced
  • 1 tsp sesame seeds (preferably toasted)

Instructions

  • Preheat grill to medium (grill side, not hot plate) or a heavy based pan over medium heat. It's important only to use medium heat because otherwise the eggplant will burn before it cooks through.
  • Combine the Miso Glaze ingredients and whisk to combine and remove lumps.
  • Brush the cut side of each eggplant with the oil. Do it 2 to 3 times to use up all the oil.
  • Place the cut side down on the grill and cook for 4 minutes until it turns a light golden brown.
  • Turn over, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes. While it is cooking, use a spoon to spread a generous amount of Miso Glaze on the cut side of each eggplant.
  • Squeeze the side of the eggplant with your tongs (or fingers if you can handle the heat!) to check for doneness - it should be squishy and soft.
  • Turn over and grill just for 30 seconds to 1 minute, just to caramelise the glaze.
  • Remove from grill, garnish with shallots and sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Recipe Notes:

1. It's best to use Japanese (lebanese) eggplants for this recipe. They are thinner than normal eggplants so when they are cut vertically they will cook through. This recipe can also be made with normal eggplant but it won't look the same. Just cut into rounds about 2 cm / 1 inch thick, brush the oil on both sides (you will need an extra 1 tbsp of oil) then follow the directions of the recipe.
2. Shiro is a type of miso which nowadays is available in major supermarkets in Australia. It is lighter in colour and slightly sweeter than normal miso which is used for miso soup. You can substitute with normal miso but you will need to add an extra 1 tsp of sugar.
3. You can substitute the sake with Chinese cooking wine or sherry. If you don't have any of these, you can substitute with water and I promise it is still really tasty!
4. In Japan, this is traditionally served with the eggplant sautéed and the Miso Glaze as a sauce. You can create this simply by adding 1 tbsp of water to the sauce and steaming the eggplant, then just pour the sauce over the eggplant (without caramelising it).
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

 

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Hi, I'm Nagi!

I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative!

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28 Comments

  1. Jess says

    October 23, 2022 at 7:13 pm

    5 stars
    My hubby has been claiming for 12 years that eggplant the worst taste on the planet. Tonight I made this dish with soba noodles and cucumber salad and he said “I would actually eat this again”. Coming from him that is a MASSIVE compliment!
    The flavours were delicious. It was so simple. 10/10

    Reply
  2. ML says

    April 9, 2022 at 12:43 am

    5 stars
    Was skeptical at first but no regrets trying it. Absolutely delightful and amazing side dish to have with a refreshing highball. Thank you again Nagi!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 10, 2022 at 7:02 pm

      Every dish is good with a refreshing highball!!! N x

      Reply
  3. Donna says

    September 26, 2021 at 4:54 am

    I have misplaced your mother’s blog site! Please help! Thanks!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 27, 2021 at 10:50 am

      You can find it here: https://japan.recipetineats.com N x

      Reply
  4. Pia says

    September 19, 2021 at 11:05 pm

    5 stars
    Thank you for this delicious and simple recipe.

    Reply
  5. Sarah Beech says

    August 21, 2021 at 11:16 pm

    This is one of those dishes that makes me say ‘if I had that in a restaurant I’d be very happy’. So so good. It is definitely going in the family recipe book.

    Reply
  6. CAROL says

    January 12, 2021 at 4:58 am

    How would you do this recipe in an air fryer?

    Reply
  7. Kate Dwyer says

    November 17, 2020 at 4:54 pm

    Hi Nagi – I’ve cooked so many of your recipes lately – I just love them – thank you. I’ve tried many times to sign up for free recipe books though and don’t receive them 😢. Could you please help?

    Reply
  8. Jwujwu says

    September 28, 2020 at 4:37 am

    5 stars
    I don’t have a grill or an air fryer. Do you this would work on a grill pan or oven baked?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      September 28, 2020 at 10:12 am

      Hi Jwujwu, yes you can use a heavy based grill pan for this recipe – N x

      Reply
  9. Jwujwu says

    September 28, 2020 at 4:36 am

    The recipe looks delicious! I don’t have a grill or an air fryer. Do you this would work on a grill pan or oven baked?

    Reply
  10. Chris says

    August 16, 2020 at 9:00 pm

    5 stars
    Can eggplant get any better than this??? I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Nasu dengaku (miso eggplant) is hands down my favorite dish of all time. Once again, my hat off to you, Nagi.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 17, 2020 at 10:40 am

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it Chris, that’s fantastic! N x

      Reply
  11. Caroline says

    August 4, 2020 at 2:37 am

    Hello! For the traditional method, do you need to steam the eggplant first or can you just sautee it? Thank you 🙂

    Reply
  12. Paula says

    July 1, 2020 at 11:17 am

    Hey Nagi, do you reckon you could you use this glaze with Morton Bay Bugs or prawns? I’ve had the Bugs with miso at teppanyaki, and would love to replicate that dish at home.

    Reply
  13. Wiw says

    June 13, 2020 at 1:05 am

    Hi Nagi, These look amazing but I don’t have a grill. Do you think I could cook them in an air fryer? Thanks. I love your recipes.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      June 13, 2020 at 6:54 am

      Hi Wiw – I haven’t tried to be honest! Would love to know if you try! N x

      Reply
      • Wiw says

        June 21, 2020 at 11:43 pm

        5 stars
        Nagi, these were delicious! I used my air fryer to bake/fry them then the Miso glaze as a sauce. No leftovers again.

        Reply
  14. Jessie says

    March 19, 2019 at 1:24 pm

    If we use the larger eggplants, do we need to salt them to remove bitterness?

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      March 19, 2019 at 7:29 pm

      Hi Jessie, yes – same process – N x

      Reply
  15. Hege says

    January 27, 2019 at 7:28 pm

    Woohoo! Was looking for recipes to use my very prolific mini eggplants in, just can’t use enough of them as just pizza topping! 😉
    If I just reduce the grilling time a bit they would work fine with this wouldn’t they? (I roasted them whole a few days back and it was very funny, we cut into them and they were…. empty shells! Obviously too long in the oven…. 😀 )

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 28, 2019 at 9:21 am

      Sounds great! Yes just reduce the cook time – N x

      Reply
  16. Elizabeth says

    August 16, 2016 at 12:29 pm

    This looks really good! I love eggplant when it’s grilled or roasted, plus I’m a huge lover of miso, so I’ll definitely give this a try at home 🙂 Love that it’s so easy too, heh. Thanks for sharing your recipe!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 17, 2016 at 10:43 pm

      Oooh! I LOVE this recipe, made it last week for a BBQ!

      Reply
  17. Elaine says

    July 17, 2014 at 6:13 pm

    5 stars
    We are eating this thin and long eggplants all summer. And this should be a recipe on list since it is so easy and yummy. Simple recipe with great flavor.

    Reply
    • Nagi | RecipeTin says

      July 17, 2014 at 6:30 pm

      Agreed! I am lucky, we get these eggplants in Australia all year round. I love them!

      Reply
  18. Farah @ The Cooking Jar says

    July 17, 2014 at 5:27 am

    Eggplant is kind of touch and go with me, it depends on the method of it being cooked. That being said, this looks like something I would like! Need to try this one day!

    Reply

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I believe you can make great food with everyday ingredients even if you’re short on time and cost conscious. You just need to cook clever and get creative! Read More

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