Nasu Dengaku Donburi
Nasu dengaku, eggplant halves broiled under a sweet miso glaze, is one of the small triumphs of Japanese cooking: something plain and cheap turned silky and savory-sweet by little more than fermented soybean paste and heat. On its own it is an appetizer. Set over a bowl of short-grain brown rice with a handful of edamame, it becomes dinner. The glaze usually depends on mirin and sugar for its shine and sweetness, both of which blended dates supply instead, while the miso brings the salt and the deep umami. Roasting the eggplant dry, cut-side down, is what keeps it from turning into the oil sponge that fried eggplant becomes.
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb Eggplant, halved lengthwise, flesh scored
- 2 tbsp White miso
- 3 wholes Medjool dates, pitted
- 1 tbsp unseasoned rice vinegar
- 1 tsp Ginger, grated
- 1 cup short grain brown rice, to serve
- 1 cup Edamame, shelled, from frozen
- 2 wholes Scallions, sliced
- 1 tbsp Sesame seeds, toasted
Method
- Rinse and start the rice in 2 cups (475 ml) water, covered, about 35 minutes, so it is ready when the eggplant is.
- Set the eggplant halves cut-side down on a lined tray and roast at 450F (230C) for 20 minutes, until the flesh is collapsing and creamy. Roasting dry and face-down steams the eggplant in its own moisture and keeps it from drinking up fat the way pan-frying would; scoring the flesh first lets the heat, and later the glaze, reach the center.
- Blend the dates with 2 tablespoons (30 ml) water, then whisk in the miso, rice vinegar, and ginger into a thick, glossy glaze. Dengaku glaze is normally sweetened with mirin and sugar; the date paste replaces both, and the vinegar keeps the miso from reading flat.
- Turn the eggplant cut-side up, spread the glaze thickly over the scored flesh, and broil 3 to 5 minutes, until it bubbles and browns at the edges. That caramelizing of the miso is the entire point of dengaku, so watch it: the sugars in the miso and dates catch fast under a broiler.
- Boil the shelled edamame 4 minutes and drain. It adds the protein that turns a vegetable dish into a meal, and its clean, grassy bite balances the rich glaze.
- Serve the eggplant over the brown rice with the edamame alongside, scattered with scallions and sesame. Two tablespoons of miso glaze all four bowls, so the salt stays measured while the eggplant tastes deeply seasoned.
Nutrition
Estimated per serving: 340 calories, 13 g protein, 9 g fiber, 340 mg sodium. Computed from USDA FoodData Central reference values for the main ingredients. This is an approximation, not a laboratory measurement. How these are computed.
Cost per serving is estimated from US national-average retail prices for cheap staple forms, using BLS dried-bean prices and USDA produce prices. Prices vary by store and season, so treat it as a guide, not a receipt. How this is computed.
