Baked and broiled in the oven, this Miso-Glazed Eggplant is easily the dream dish of any eggplant lover! The eggplant pieces are nicely caramelized on the edges yet so creamy in the middle. It’s a satisfying vegan dish that you can make in 30 minutes.
Eggplant is easily one of those under-appreciated and misapprehended vegetables. Mainly because it can be tricky to cook. However, when it’s done right, this spongy vegetable has the ability to soak up flavors and offers the best silky, sumptuous texture.
To get anyone excited about eggplant, I have a wonderfully simple recipe – Miso Glazed Eggplant (茄子の味噌焼き). You don’t have to worry about oil and potential sogginess. Plus, it has a crispy exterior, a super-creamy interior, and an impressive flavor. Give it a try!
A Quick Note on Miso Glazed Eggplant
Today’s recipe is an adaption of the classic Nasu no Miso Dengaku (茄子の味噌田楽) where eggplant is grilled and coated with a sweet miso glaze. The eggplant is commonly served together with other grilled items such as tofu, eggplant, daikon, taro root, and konnyaku as part of a dish known as Miso Dengaku (味噌田楽). You can read more about the history and recipe of Miso Dengaku in this post.
While grill and pan-fry are common treatments for eggplant in Japan, here we’ll use the oven (and broiler) instead. Baking softens and sweetens the eggplant into the best texture, and it allows you to cook a big batch at once with minimal effort.
Ingredients for Miso Glazed Eggplant
- Eggplant (I recommend using Japanese, Chinese, or Italian varieties. The slender ones cook a lot faster)
- Condiments: Miso, mirin, sake, sugar, and sesame oil
- Garnish: Sesame seeds, green onion, yuzu kosho (optional for a spicy kick)
How to Make the Best Miso Glazed Eggplant
- Slice the eggplants in boat-like halves and then give them criss-cross scores so they cook faster and take on more flavor.
- Bake the eggplants until tender.
- Brush the eggplants with miso glaze and broil until they achieve a bubbly and caramelized exterior.
What Miso to Use
A classic Miso Dengaku uses red miso or hatcho miso (see my recipe). In this recipe, however, I used Organic White Miso from Hikari Miso. This versatile miso is mild, flavorful, and smooth, and it goes well with the majority of dishes, including miso soup, and miso cod.
You can find this miso at Japanese/Asian grocery stores and also on Amazon.
What if I have a different kind of miso?
If you already have a tub of miso in your refrigerator, go ahead and use it. Each variety of miso (whether brand or miso type) has a different salt level, so you do have to adjust the miso glaze by adding more mirin or sugar.
White miso is on the sweeter side and tends to be less salty, so if you have red miso (aka miso), you probably need to balance out the flavor by adding more mirin or sugar.
What to Serve with Miso Glazed Eggplant
This Miso Glazed Eggplant can be enjoyed as a tasty appetizer, side or as a main dish. I love serving it with:
- Teriyaki Salmon
- Tonkatsu (Japanese Pork Cutlet)
- Yakitori-Style Grilled Vegetables
- Nikujaga (Japanese Beef and Potato Stew)
- Kakitamajiru (Japanese Egg Drop Soup)
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Miso-Glazed Eggplant
Ingredients
For the Sweet Miso Glaze
- 3 Tbsp miso (I recommend Organic White Miso by Hikari Miso)
- 1 Tbsp sugar
- 1 Tbsp mirin
- ½–1 Tbsp sake (or more, if your miso is chunky; can substitute water)
For the Eggplant
- 3 Japanese eggplants (1.2 lb, 518 g)
- 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil
For the Garnish (optional)
- 1 green onion/scallion (or 2 stalks if they‘re thin and small)
- 5 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) (available at a Japanese market; no similar substitutes since eggplant, shiso, and miso are the golden combo!)
- 2 tsp toasted white sesame seeds
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients. Set the oven rack in the center of the oven about 7 inches (18 cm) away from the heating element. Preheat the oven to 425ºF (220ºC). For a convection oven, reduce the cooking temperature by 25ºF (15ºC).
To Make the Sweet Miso Glaze
- In a small bowl, combine 3 Tbsp miso and 1 Tbsp sugar. Mix well until the sugar is dissolved.
- Add 1 Tbsp mirin and gradually add ½–1 Tbsp sake to your preferred consistency (some miso might be chunkier than others). Mix well and set aside.
To Prepare the Eggplants
- Cut off the stem and calyx of 3 Japanese eggplants and cut them in half lengthwise from the stem to the tip, creating boat-like halves. If your eggplants are long, you can cut them in half crosswise.
- With the knife, score the eggplant flesh diagonally in one direction and then the other, about ⅛ inch (3 mm) deep and ⅛ inch (3 mm) wide, in a crisscross pattern on the open surface. This crisscross scoring helps cook the eggplants faster and improves the presentation.
- Soak the eggplants in water for 10 minutes to remove the astringency. Blot the eggplants with paper towels or a clean kitchen towel and place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
- Brush the eggplant flesh with 1 Tbsp toasted sesame oil. Turn the eggplants over so they are cut side down on the baking sheet.
To Bake
- Bake the eggplants at 425ºF (220ºC) for 15 minutes.
- Meanwhile, cut 1 green onion/scallion into thin rounds.
- Roll up 5 shiso leaves (perilla/ooba) and cut them into julienned strips.
- After 15 minutes, check that the eggplant skin is beginning to shrivel and the flesh is soft. Remove the baking sheet from the oven. Now, change the oven setting and preheat the broiler. Keep the oven rack in the center of the oven, roughly 7 inches (18 cm) away from the heating element.
- Carefully turn the eggplants over and brush them with enough sweet miso glaze to coat the surface completely. Depending on the size of your eggplants, you may have glaze leftover. The original recipe makes enough glaze for 3 large or 5 medium eggplants. You can freeze it for later or use it to dip veggies for snacks.
To Broil
- Place the eggplants under the broiler and broil for 3–5 minutes, or until the glaze begins to bubble, and remove from the broiler. Please note that the cooking time varies based on how far away you place the baking sheet from the heating element.
To Serve
- Sprinkle the baked eggplants with 2 tsp toasted white sesame seeds, sliced green onions, and shiso leaves. I put a little bit of yuzu kosho (optional) on a maple leaf for a spicy kick. Serve immediately.
To Store
- You can keep the leftovers in an airtight container and store it in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on June 30, 2013. The post has been updated with new blog content and images along with a revised recipe in October 2021.
Hi! Do you slice the eggplant smaller before serving? Also, do you eat the skin? The recipe sounds delicious, and I will try it soon!
Hi, Katie! Thank you for reading Nami’s post and trying her recipe!
We usually serve the eggplant whole and cut it into bite-size pieces using a chopstick.
However, you can cut them into bite-size pieces and serve them, or score the skin side with a knife during preparation to make it easier later on, and enjoy it with the skin, or serve them with a spoon to scoop up just the inner part. After you finish the inner part, you can roll up the skin for a bite-size treat.
We hope this was helpful!
Can I bake it face down earlier in the day and then flip and do the rest (broiling with miso) just before serving? Thanks.
Hello, Karen! Thank you for taking the time to read Nami’s post and try her recipe!
Yes. You can bake them ahead of time and finish the broiling before serving. We hope you enjoy the recipe!😊
Thanks, Naomi! Can i grill these eggplants throughout instead of switch from grill to broil?
Hi Jo! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe!
Yes, you can only use a grill for this recipe, but that will take much longer to start the glaze to bubble.
We hope this helps!
Great recipe! I used red miso and I think I used too much glaze so mine came out too salty (I was going fir a cream texture)… perhaps I should have used less miso abd less glaze… do you have any tips for making it creamier (so ysing lots of glaze) but less salty?
Also not sure why only 4 stars appear as I rate the recipe with 5 stars! 🙂
I understand this is a miso-glaze recipe but could I substitute another glaze without using miso? Many thanks.
Hi Bev! Thank you very much for reading Nami’s post!
Sure. You can use another glaze. How about sweet soy sauce flavor? Use soy sauce and Mirin (https://www.justonecookbook.com/soy-glazed-eggplant-donburi/)
We hope this helps!
Hi Robert! Thank you for your kind wishes. Me too, I love eggplant too! Hope you enjoy the recipe!
Found it to be way to salty. Will try making again with only 2 T of miso.
Hi Valerie! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us!
You can also try using less miso glaze when you brush an eggplant.
We hope your next try will be perfect saltness.🙂
We have been making this recipe in our family for a long time. It is a main dish for us, because we mix ground chicken into the sauce, and top it on eggplant. Make sure you use hatcho miso!
Hi Kelley! Thank you very much for trying Nami’s recipe and sharing your cooking experience with us!
When I lived in Japan one Izakaya I liked made my favorite version of miso dengaku. It is very similar to yours but they did added some cooked ground chicken to the glaze. The other change was they added some pieces of mochi cake. I like mochi and then the play between the eggplant and mochi textures was interesting. Some day need to try adding mochi? Have you ever had nasu dengaku with mochi? “Yan can cook” had it in one of his shows, but he deep fried the eggplant with the mochi, not sure how to modify this recipe to use dried mochi blocks. Thanks for excellent recipe!! Brad
Hello, Brad. Thank you so much for taking the time to read Nami’s post.
Dengaku comes in a wide range of variations and cooking methods. So we are not sure how they prepare it. However, You may add dry Mochi cake as it bakes in the oven, or you can soften the dried mochi in a pot or microwave with water first and wrap it in the sliced eggplant before deep frying it.
We hope this helps you in recreating your favorite version!
Wow this sounds amazing. I’m gonna use ground pork and try it!
Different miso has different flavor, so while you can do it, it won’t have the same taste (it should still be pretty good). If you can find Hatcho Miso, get it. It is the kind used for the recipe, and it has a very unique, almost molassessy flavor which really makes it great.
This glaze is amazing! Would it work with any other vegetable too?
Hi Tanuja! Thank you very much for your kind feedback!
Yes! You can use this Miso glaze for your favorite vegetables too. Carrot, Zucchini, Konnyaku, etc., even on the Tofu. Enjoy!
I made it with eggplant and zucchini last night. It was very delicious.
Hi Ruby! Awesome! We are glad to hear you enjoyed Zucchini as well! Thank you very much for your kind feedback.
Great flavor!!
Hi Laura, Thank you for trying this recipe and your kind feedback!
Thanks for the recipe. I love this dish when i went to a Hokkaido Izakaya but dont know how to prepare this at home. I tried it and it works! Not difficult to prepare and it is another method to eat eggplant.
Hi Lee! Thank you very much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback! We are so happy to hear you had this dish at Izakaya, but now you can also enjoy it at home! Happy Cooking!
I made this recipe tonight with eggplant from my garden (I don’t have a green thumb, but I ended up with 6 nice eggplants so far). This recipe is a keeper! The eggplant had great texture and flavor. Thank you again, Nami, for making cooking interesting, fun, and delicious!
Hi Danni,
Wow! Fresh vegetables are the best!
Thank you so much for trying this recipe and for your kind feedback!
As always, your dishes never fail to please. So good, Nami. I could just eat your recipes the entire week and never be disappointed. This miso glaze would work over zucchi, thinly sliced breasts and fish.
Hi Kazy! I’m so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind words!!
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