From the new cookbook, The Vegan ABCs Cookbook by Lisa Dawn Angerame, Miso Eggplant, a popular Japanese dish is a savory flavorful plant-based dish you can use as a side or make the main event. Made with Japanese or Chinese eggplant and a miso glaze made of miso, sunflower oil, mirin, tamari, and apple cider vinegar, this traditional dish is sure to please.
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The Vegan ABCs Cookbook
Lisa Dawn Angerame, author of the Vegan ABCs Cookbook sent me a copy of her new cookbook for my honest review. (Please note that all opinions are mine and that I only publish reviews for things that I love and that I know my readers will love as well!)
Being a teacher, I was quite curious and excited to take a look at this cookbook concept. The cookbook is indeed organized by the ABCs with each letter of the alphabet covering an important ingredient to vegan cooking along with several recipes.
The tagline is “Using Exciting Ingredients – from Aquafaba to Zucchini”. And yes, thumbing through this fun cookbook, you can find “J” for jackfruit, “N” for nutritional yeast, “T” for tempeh and tofu, and…many more.
Things I love about this cookbook!
- The recipes! Each letter talks about one special and sometimes unique vegan ingredient. And THEN gives you several recipes so that you can experience cooking with that ingredient. They all sound amazing too. I can’t wait to try the Rosemary Chocolate Bark, or the Classic Crusty Mac and Cheese.
- The plant-based special ingredients! The author not only gives you fantastic recipes for the special “ABC” vegan ingredient, but she tells you a little something about it. Perhaps the history, how to prepare, or other useful information.
- The photos! Gorgeous photos accompany the recipes. I consume with my eyes first. If a cookbook doesn’t provide photos to go along with the recipes, I have a hard time getting excited about any of them. And I gotta tell you – these look exciting!
The Miso Eggplant
The author was gracious enough to allow me to share one of the recipes from the cookbook with my readers. Well, “E” is for eggplant! Brushed with miso glaze, roasted and broiled, I couldn’t resist. Can you see see why I chose this one?
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Ingredients needed to make miso-glazed eggplant
- Japanese or Chinese eggplant – these are the long skinny ones. I used Chinese because that’s what we had.
- Salt
- Sunflower oil – I could not find any and so used safflower oil. You need a light-tasting oil that can handle high heat.
For the miso glaze you will need:
- Apple cider vinegar
- Mirin, a Japanese sweet wine-like seasoning. You can find it near the rice vinegar and soy sauce and such.
- Tamari
- White or yellow miso paste – which is actually light brownish looking and which you will learn about under “M” for miso…
- Sunflower oil – again, I couldn’t find any and so used safflower oil. It’s a good substitute.
To top the finished dish:
- Sliced green onions
- Toasted sesame seeds
- Pomegranate seeds – optional – not pictured and not included in the recipe. I used them because they were pretty against the black dish and I had some on hand. As is turns out, the flavor pairs well too!
How to make the super yummy Miso Eggplant
Start by cutting the eggplant in half lengthwise and scoring on the diagonal. Then score again on the other side so that you have a diamond pattern on the cut side.
Then generously sprinkle salt on the cut piece. I even gently opened up some of the cut diamonds so that the salt could fall inside.
Do this for all of the pieces and lay them flesh side down on a paper towel-lined baking sheet for at least an hour. This helps with the texture because the salt will draw out excess moisture.
Preheat the oven and prepare another baking sheet with parchment paper (affiliate link).
After the hour is up, turn the eggplant halves over and gently pat any moisture with more paper towels. Brush with the oil and lay them cut side down again. Bake for 20 minutes.
While the eggplants are cooking, you can make the miso glaze. It’s honestly pretty straightforward. The trickiest part is breaking up and incorporating the miso paste with the other wet ingredients. I use this small firm silicone spatula and it does the trick nicely.
Take the cooked eggplant out of the oven and turn the oven to the broiler setting. Turn the eggplant halves over and brush with the miso glaze. Finally, broil for 5-8 minutes. You will know when they are done because they will caramelize and even get a little charred in places.
Serving suggestions
Top with sliced scallions and sesame seeds. I also topped with some pomegranate seeds because I had them on hand and I thought they would look lovely against the black dish. I was right; and as it turns out, they are a delicious pairing with the miso glaze.
You can serve with a scoop of rice or roasted potatoes. Add a side salad for a complete meal. This Purple Cabbage Slaw with Miso Vinegar Dressing was a perfect accompaniment for this dish.
The printable recipe card for Miso Eggplant
Did you love this recipe?
Want to share the love? It would be great if you could leave five ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ stars and even a comment. Did you know that this will help Google to find this recipe when others are looking for something similar? Thanks, Cindy
Miso Eggplant
Equipment
- Oven with broiler
Ingredients
Eggplant
- 4 Japanese or Chinese Eggplant
- 1 Tablespoon Sunflower oil for brushing – you will also use more sunflower oil in the miso glaze
Miso Glaze
- 2 Tablespoons mellow white miso
- 1 Tablespoon sunflower oil
- 1 Tablespoon Mirin
- 1 Tablespoon tamari
- 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
To Serve
- 2 scallions white and green parts
- 2 teaspoons toasted sesame seeds
Instructions
- Line a sheet pan with paper towels. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise.
- To score the flesh, use a paring knife to cut diagonal lines about 1 inch (2.5 cm) apart, without cutting through the skin. Turn and cut diagonal lines in the other direction, resulting in a diamond pattern.
- Generously salt the eggplants and lay them flesh side down. Let the eggplants sit for at least one hour.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C). Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper.
- Pat the eggplants with a clean paper towel to absorb any remaining water. Lightly brush the egglants all over with sunflower oil and place them cut side down on the sheet pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes until the flesh is soft and golden brown.
- In the meantime, make the miso glaze. In a small mixing bowl, add ghe miso, sunflower oil, mirin, tamari and apple cider vinegar. Break up the miso with a small silicone spaltula and whisk it together until completely smooth.
- Take the eggplants out of the oven and turn the oven to the broiler setting.
- Turn the eggplants over and brush the flesh with the miso glaze, coating the entire surface. broil until the glaze has caramelized and is charred in spots, about 5-8 minutes.
- Serve topped with scallions and sesame seeds.
Would this work with regular eggplants cut into smaller pieces?
Thanks
I tried it with regular egg plants because it is what I had on hand. I cut them into smaller long pieces. It really worked fine and the recipe was delicious. Thank you for sharing it
Thank you SOOO much for letting me know! I’m really glad you liked it. Cindy