Nasu no Dengaku gives soft, juicy rounds of eggplant under a salty sweet glaze. The frying is the difficult part, because eggplant drinks oil and needs a covered pan over low heat. Each piece goes straight into lightly salted water as it is cut, so it does not darken.
A few shallow scores across the surface help it cook through and take the glaze. The miso sauce simmers over low heat for 10 minutes to thicken, and the sesame oil goes in only after the heat is off.
This batch weighs about 825g, at roughly 45 calories per 100g.
Method
Prepare a bowl of hot water and steep the sachet of dashi powder to make a broth, then measure out 2 tablespoons for this dish.
Trim the stems from 2 to 3 eggplants, wash them in lightly salted water, peel them and cut them into rounds about 2.5 to 3cm thick, dropping each piece into a bowl of lightly salted water as you go so it does not darken.
Lift the eggplant out, pat it dry with a cloth, then score the surface a few times so it cooks quickly and takes the flavor.
Make the sauce: put 2 tablespoons miso paste, 2 tablespoons mirin, 2 tablespoons dashi broth and 1 teaspoon kOBE Monk Fruit Blend in a pot and bring to a boil.
Lower the heat and cook for about 10 minutes, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens, then turn off the heat and stir in 1 teaspoon sesame oil.
Set a pan over the heat with cooking oil, and once it is hot add the eggplant, cover the pan tightly, turn the heat to its lowest and fry for about 7 minutes.
Uncover, turn the pieces and fry for another 3 minutes or so until they are soft.
Transfer the eggplant to a tray, brush the glaze over the surface and put it in the oven until the glaze turns deep brown.
Take it out and scatter toasted white sesame seeds over the top.
Tips
A few scores across the cut face help the eggplant cook through and take the glaze.
Fry the eggplant covered on the lowest heat, as it cooks in the steam and drinks less oil.
The miso glaze needs steady stirring for the full 10 minutes, since miso that settles on the bottom scorches.
Without dashi powder, a vegetable broth from mushrooms and kombu keeps the dish vegetarian.
Mirin can be replaced with cooking wine plus half a teaspoon of kOBE Monk Fruit Blend.
Vietnamese eggplant has thin skin, so it stays soft with the skin left on.
Need kOBE Monk Fruit Blend?
The recipe above is sweetened with kOBE Monk Fruit Blend, measured 1:1 like sugar. See the product page or send us a message.