Nasu No Miso Dengaku - Vegetarian Dishes

[Minion]

Nasu No Miso Dengaku - Japanese slow-roasted eggplant with dengaku sauce



I've been eating less meat lately in an attempt to lose weight and to eat healthier. So far its been working pretty well, I've lost nearly 35 lbs in about a month. One thing that helps me is that I was raised on a variety of asian foods which offers me several styles of dishes to choose from so I've been eating Thai, Vietnamese, Korean, Filipino and Japanese vegetarian dishes and not been terribly tempted. I have had some chicken, fish and eggs so its not a strict vegetarian diet. I do miss bacon but not fast foods.

Anyway this is one of the dishes I really like and I hope you will too.



You can make this with any type of eggplant but it works best with the thinner skinned types. I prefer the longer japanese type cause it looks better and the eggplant taste less bitter to me.

***Note***
These pictures show sesame seeds sprinkled on top as a garnish, I don't do that with mine cause I use sesame oil but feel free to add the seeds if you like.

Serves 1-2, depending on what else is served at the same meal.

1 large, round or 2-3 small, fresh eggplants.
Olive or sesame oil - I use toasted sesame oil which is darker and more flavourful

If you’re using a big round one: Cut off the blossom end, and reserve to use as a decoration.


If you are using a big long one (e.g. the standard Italian or American type eggplant): Take off the blossom end (optionally reserve for use as decoration) and cut the eggplant into thick slices crosswise, or into half lengthwise. (Note that I don’t recommend this type of eggplant for this, since the skin tends to be rather tough. Choose one of the other kinds if you can.)



If you’re using a small thin Asian-type eggplant: Cut in half lengthwise, keeping the blossom end on for decorative purposes.



Rub the cut surfaces of the eggplant with a little sesame or olive oil. Roast it in an oven at 200°C / 400°F, cut side down and tented with some loose foil until tender (the time depends on the size of the eggplant, but it’s about 10 minutes for a small eggplant, 30 minutes for a big eggplant, with the slices somewhere in between). It’s tender when you can pierce through easily with a skewer.

Alternatively, you can slow-roast the eggplant in a dry frying pan. Place cut-side down in a non-stick pan, and cover loosely with some aluminum foil. Pan-roast until tender over medium-low heat, turning once. This method is especially suited for small eggplant - it takes 5-10 minutes and doesn’t heat up the kitchen as much as the oven method.


While the eggplant cooks, prepare the dengaku sauce.


For the dengaku sauce:

3 Tbs. miso. Here I’ve used a shiro miso (white milder miso), but any miso you like will do. I have used aka miso (red and more full bodied) with great results but it is a bit saltier and my current diet is more low sodium
1 Tbs. sugar
1 Tbs. sake
1 Tbs. mirin
1 tsp. grated fresh ginger
1 tsp. olive oil or sesame oil
water


Combine all the ingredients in a small pan, and set over low heat. Mix the sauce vigorously with a wooden spoon, until the sauce turns glossy. Adjust the consistency by adding drops of water. It should not be too runny, but should flow thickly, rather like a thick ketchup.

Serve the eggplant warm, coated with sauce.

About dengaku sauce

Dengaku is a classic miso based sauce. There are many variations, but the basics are the same: miso with sweetener, a little oil for adding gloss, and sake and/or mirin for added flavor. Sometimes a little soy sauce is added, or dashi stock instead of water, or even MSG. I prefer the simpler version posted here

You can make dengaku sauce in quantity and keep it in a closed jar in the refrigerator, but I don’t bother since it’s so easy to make fresh. If you do make it and store it, warm it up a bit before using.

Dengaku sauce is terrific on other grilled or roasted vegetables, firm tofu, and so on. It’s a bit sweet for serving on meat and fish, but you can try it out!


There’s nothing like the combination of juicy, soft eggplant with that sweet-salty, thick dengaku sauce served with a bowl of hot rice and its great



If you want to gild the lily, try popping the whole thing under the broiler for a minute after you spread the dengaku sauce on the eggplant. It gets all carmelized on the sides, and warm and gooey in the middle, Heavenly

[lavahi]

sorry Minion, I've just never been into eggplant that much

[Minion]

The sauce and method will work on a lot of different veggies, I happen to love eggplant, especially the long japanese variety, but this will work on zucchini, yellow squash and kabocha. Haven't tried it with meats but its similar to misoyaki so I would expect it to work well.

[lavahi]

we now have a food ICON....!!!!!!!!!!

I might have to start using the post icons now....


Thanks Minion...