This Miso Pork and Eggplant Stir-Fry recipe makes a delicious and easy weeknight meal. You‘ll love the magical combination of tender eggplants soaking up the savory miso flavors. Serve it as a main entree or a one-bowl meal over steamed rice.
Miso Pork and Eggplant Stir Fry (豚肉とナスの味噌炒め) is one of my go-to recipes when I have eggplants in my kitchen. I love the eggplants when they soak up all the delicious savory flavors, especially with miso and soy sauce-based sauce. When served over a bowl of steamed rice, the dish makes a satisfying dinner with affordable ingredients and is loaded with nutrition.
Table of Contents
3 Best Ingredient Combinations
The combination of miso and eggplant is fail-proof, and by adding pork, you get a robust and hearty stir-fry dish. If you use miso regularly, you’d agree that it makes an all-rounded seasoning that works with any protein, but my choice is always pork when I cook miso with eggplant. The absorbency of the eggplant and the sweet bold flavor of pork, when paired hand-in-hand, is one that you can rely on in various preparations. As a result, you get tender juicy pork, creamy eggplant, and a flavorful sauce that holds everything together. It’s a combination that works. Another delicious example you may want to try is this Ginger Pork Roll with Eggplant.
I used Japanese eggplant in the recipe. Japanese eggplant has a slender body and is more tender than other varieties. Since it cooks up quickly, it is the best choice for stir-frying and many other Japanese dishes. You can still substitute it with Chinese eggplant or another variety that you can find locally in your market. They are the freshest when they are in season.
Benefits of Cooking with Miso & Which Miso to Use
One of the most obvious uses for miso is in soup, but this fermented soybean paste has a lot more to offer. In Japanese cooking, you can find miso being utilized in marinades, vinaigrettes, and as a sauce to turn a plain dish into something incredibly flavorful. Not only it is a versatile seasoning for everyday dishes, it is also a mighty probiotic that offers many health benefits and essential minerals, and it is especially good for gut health.
If you’re new to Just One Cookbook, here are just some of the recipes featuring this all-purpose seasoning:
- Miso Yaki Onigiri
- Spicy Edamame
- Vegetable Miso Soup
- Miso Ginger Pork
- Spring Mix Salad with Sweet Miso Dressing
I’ve been cooking a lot of miso recipes this year using Hikari Miso, my favorite miso brand which I’m honored to partner with. Hikari Miso carries various types of miso that are organic and non-GMO. For this recipe, I’ve used Hikari Miso® Organic Miso – Red Miso, but you can use other types of miso to try out different flavors. You can purchase Hikari Miso from a majority of Japanese/Asian grocery stores or on Amazon.
Variations
Vegetarian/ Vegan-Friendly
Instead of meat, you can add tofu or deep-fried tofu such as Aburaage (deep-fried tofu pouch – no white tofu part) or Atsuage (thick deep-fried tofu with inside white and brown skin. You can find this variety at Asian grocery stores).
You can also keep it simple by using more eggplant. You can toss in other vegetables like zucchini if you like. Just remember that the cooking time will vary and the flavor profile may taste slightly different.
Some miso may contain dashi (it displays as だし入り “dashi included”) for your convenience to make miso soup instantly by adding miso into the water. Typically dashi is made of katsuobushi (dried bonito flakes) so if you plan to make vegetarian/vegan-friendly meals, make sure to pick miso that does not include dashi.
Make It Spicy
If you enjoy spicy food, I highly recommend adding a few teaspoons of Doubanjiang (chili bean paste) to your liking. If you enjoy just a little bit of spice like me, sprinkle some ichimi togarashi (Japanese chili pepper) or shichimi togarashi (Japanese seven spice).
Comfort Food at Its Best
Although the stir-fry dish is not particularly exciting looking, it’s truly comfort food, which is why I like to serve it over steamed rice. This one-bowl rice dish or what we call donburi, is a really easy weeknight meal for busy moms, singles, and students. Enjoy it with miso soup and a simple bowl of salad or green vegetable dish like Spinach Gomaae!
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Miso Pork and Eggplant Stir Fry
Ingredients
- 2 Japanese or Chinese eggplants (or 1 globe eggplant)
- 1 Tokyo negi (naga negi; long green onion) (use the white part only; or use several green onions)
- 1 green onion/scallion (for garnish)
- 1 clove garlic
- 1 knob ginger (1 inch, 2.5 cm; peeled)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil
- ¼ lb thinly sliced pork (I use komagire pre-cut pieces; buy pre-sliced at a Japanese grocery store or thinly slice meat at home and then cut into bite-size pieces)
For the Seasonings
For Serving as a Donburi Rice Bowl (optional)
- 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice (typically 1⅔ cups (250 g) per donburi serving)
Instructions
- Gather all the ingredients.
- In a small bowl, combine 2 Tbsp miso, 1–2 tsp sugar, 1 Tbsp mirin, and 1 Tbsp sake. Mix all together until the miso is completely dissolved.
- Add 1 Tbsp soy sauce and 2 Tbsp water to the bowl. Mix well and set aside.
- Cut 2 Japanese or Chinese eggplants into bite-size pieces. I use the rangiri cutting technique to increase the surface area so it cooks evenly and adds more flavor. Soak the eggplants in water to prevent the color from changing.
- Meanwhile, thinly cut the white part of 1 Tokyo negi (naga negi; long green onion) diagonally. Cut the green part of 1 green onion/scallion diagonally into thin slices and set it aside for garnish.
- Slice 1 clove garlic and 1 knob ginger thinly.
To Stir-Fry
- Add 1 Tbsp neutral oil to a frying pan over medium heat. Cook the garlic and ginger until fragrant.
- Add the white part of the negi and ¼ lb thinly sliced pork.
- Stir-fry until the pork is 80% cooked through. Then, add the eggplant and stir-fry until it becomes slightly tender.
- Add the sauce and lower the heat to medium-low heat.
- Cook, covered, for 5 minutes. If there is not enough liquid/steam, add 1 Tbsp water.
To Serve
- When the eggplant is tender, turn off the heat. The Miso Pork and Eggplant Stir-Fry is now ready to serve. To serve it as a donburi rice bowl, divide 2 servings cooked Japanese short-grain rice into donburi (large) bowls and serve the stir-fry on top. Garnish with sliced green onion on top.
So delicious!! Thank you!!
Hi Kate! I’m so glad you enjoyed it. Thank you for your kind feedback. xoxo
[…] Miso Pork and Eggplant Stir-Fry […]
Just made this and it was fantastic. Thanks for the recipe!!
Hi Stacey! I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
Made this tonight for wife and I. Huge hit. Also used zucchini (as another poster did), and it was awesome top to bottom!
Hi Dennis! I’m so glad to hear that you and your wife enjoyed this dish. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. 😀
Can i omit sake in this recipe?
Hi Nina! Sure… but make sure water is added to replace sake. 🙂
Hello Nami, the addition of chilli bean paste sounds great!
Since chilli bean paste is salty, how should I alter the amount of the other seasonings if I will like to add it into the recipe?
If I’m adding tofu, will I need to “sit” the tofu in paper towel prior to using it?
Thanks for sharing yet another yummy recipe! Can’t wait to try it out. 🙂
Hi Bernice!
1) Generally I don’t add too much chili bean paste (as kids don’t eat super spicy food) so I don’t need to modify my recipe. If you think chili bean paste would add too much salt, then reduce miso – miso’s saltiness really depends on the brand and what type of miso. You can definitely check the flavor before combining the sauce with ingredients.
2) Yes, use medium to firm tofu and sit for 15 minutes at least.
Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂
I had a lot of Japanese eggplants in my garden and decided to try this recipe. My husband and I loved it! I will definitely make it again. I also made the spinach gomaae as a side dish, which had a really nice toasted sesame flavor.
Hi Claire! I’m so happy to hear you two enjoyed this recipe and spinach gomaae. Thank you for your kind feedback. I’m jealous you are growing your own eggplants! xo
Thanks for this recipe Nami! I have been looking for a similar recipe since watching “Samurai Gourmet” on Netflix, in which the protagonist ordered a similar dish at a diner. I was so excited to try this out and it did not disappoint! My daughters ate the eggplant without complaint, which I consider a success. Will try adding zucchini next time.
Hi Ying! Yay! I’m really happy to hear your daughters ate this dish! My kids also do not like eggplants, and while I was testing this recipe, they were complaining “whaaat eggplant again?” LOL. Thank you for your kind feedback!
I have just made Miso Pork and Eggplant. So delicious and easy to make. This dish is set to become a regular
Hi Karen! I’m so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe. Thank you so much for your kind feedback. xo
Thank you for trying this recipe with Zucchini, and I’m glad it worked out well. Thanks for your kind feedback, Lulo!
This looks delicious! If you can’t find any naga negi at your local store, how many green onions should I use?
Hi Karen! Probably two depends on how long the white part will be… they get sweeter as you cook, so if you want that flavor profile, you can add up to 3-4 green onions’ white part. You can replace it with onion, leek, shallot too. 🙂 Hope you enjoy the recipe!
didnt exacly smell like my kind of food when I made it but then I took a bite and SO YUMMY, umai! Thanks for the good and easy recipe.I accedentally used zuchinni in stead of eggplant but that worked as well and was surprisingly flaverfull
Hi Lulo! Thank you for trying this recipe! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe with zucchini! It works perfectly as well. Thank you for your kind feedback. 🙂
You did it again, Nami! This was delicious! I had purchased eggplant and hadn’t decided what to do with all of it (there were two left). This was a perfect way to use it up and my 85-year old mother said that it reminded her of the eggplant with miso that her mother made for her when she was a child. Thank you for continuing to share such wonderful recipes.
Hi Gayle! I’m so happy to hear you tried this recipe! And your grandma’s feedback made me so happy. Thank you for sharing it with me. 🙂 Hope I can share more recipes that are nostalgic to her. Thanks again! xo
Suggestions for other vegetables other than eggplant?
Hi Rachel! Leeks, zucchini, cabbage, onion, anything is okay (but not leafy vegetable as they get wilted too fast and miso can be too overpowering). Idealy something that soaks up the flavor would be nice option, like zucchini, firm tofu, along that line. 🙂
As always, delicious recipes with fantastic visuals. Now I’m hungry! Love your recipes!!!
Thank you so much Adrian! Hope you enjoy this recipe! 🙂