Miso Glazed Eggplant Recipe (Nasu Dengaku)

I'm Yuto and today on Sudachi I'm going to show you how to make a delicious miso glazed eggplant dish called Nasu Dengaku. Let's get straight to it. Start preheating your grill or broiler on medium and then grab two washed eggplants. Cut off the stems at the top and then cut them in half lengthwise. I'm using Japanese eggplant but Chinese eggplant or other eggplants also works well. On the flesh side score a fine cross hatch pattern. Not only will this improve the texture but also allow the miso glaze to seep into the cuts helping the flavor travel deeper. Once your grill has finished preheating place the eggplants with the flesh side facing up. I'm using a Japanese fish grill so the heat source is on the top similar to the broiler function on a standard oven. Grill for about three minutes then flip and grill the skin side for five minutes. Check occasionally to make sure it's not burning. In the meantime let's make the glaze. Take a small saucepan and add two tablespoons of yellow miso paste, two tablespoons of sake, one teaspoon of mirin, half tablespoon of light brown sugar and half tablespoon of toasted sesame oil. Turn on the heat medium high and mix continuously. We want to bring it to a boil but miso is prone to burning so you need to keep mixing it. Once it's bubbling reduce the heat to low and continue to stir over the heat until it's thickened slightly. I like using a silicone spatula so I can scrape the bottom of the pan. When it looks like this take it off the heat. Okay let's check on the eggplant. They're slightly charred which is a good thing. We want them to be quite well cooked so that they are nice and soft. Flip them back over and then spread the miso glaze over the top. The glaze should cover them in a nice thick layer. Once they're covered return them to the grill and cook for another two minutes or so until the miso glaze has caramelized. They're ready when the miso is bubbling and has turned dark like this. Arrange them on a plate and sprinkle them with sesame seeds. I also like to add some thinly sliced leaves for a refreshing touch. And that's it! Delicious Nasu Dengaku. It's perfect as a side dish or even a party appetizer. And great news! I've launched a free mobile app that makes following along with my recipes even easier. It's the perfect kitchen companion after watching my videos. You can access step-by-step instructions right on your phone while you cook. The download link is in the description below. Thank you so much for watching. If you want to read the written version of this recipe you can find it on my blog. The link is on the screen. And if you like eggplants check out my fake unagi eggplant recipe on the screen too. Hope to see you in the next one. Bye!