Japanese Miso Eggplant Nasu Dengaku Recipe: Velvety Soft and Irresistible! (2024)

FAQs

Do you eat the skin of Nasu Dengaku? ›

Place the rice into bowls, add the vegetables and edamame, drizzle over some of the extra miso sauce and top with the eggplants. Garnish with the sesame seeds, chopped spring onion and coriander. Enjoy! Note: you are not expected to eat the eggplant skin but by all means do if you desire.

Simply put, Miso Dengaku (味噌田楽) is a miso glazed dish, and popular ingredients for this recipe include tofu, eggplant, daikon, and konnyaku. Most of the ingredients are all vegetarian/vegan, but sometimes white fish is used for miso dengaku, and it's called Gyoden (魚田) or Fish Dengaku.

Japanese eggplants offer a sweeter, more tender, and more delicate taste than standard American eggplants. Because they're smaller and longer, they possess fewer seeds. This rids them of that typical vegetal bitterness that you'll find in some eggplant varieties.

My version is a little different – I cook the eggplant halves for a few minutes in a skillet and finish them in a baking tray under a broiler, until the miso sauce caramelizes and bubbles. The flavor is savory, smoky and sweet – with a toasted, nutty essence skirting around the edges.

While the leaves and flowers can be toxic, the eggplant itself is safe to consume both raw and cooked, and the compound that some might be sensitive to, solanine, is only toxic when consumed in large quantities.

More slender than the common globe variety, Japanese eggplant has purple skin that can be light or dark, which can be left on for cooking. Like all other eggplant, Japanese eggplant is never eaten raw. But unlike larger, seedier eggplant, Japanese eggplant generally doesn't need salting.

Here are some of my favourite ways to serve these oven-baked miso aubergines: Over rice noodles with chopped coriander and sesame seeds. On a bed or rice or quinoa with some Colourful Roasted Root Veg. Topping a mixed bean salad bowl with gluten free falafels and homemade hummus.

The general meaning of dengaku "refers to all rituals related to agriculture and thus to fertility and regeneration". It could be simply described as a form of dance in which some people play musical instruments while dancing in various combinations.

“Traditionally, rice miso is more expensive than barley miso, because the grain is more expensive,” explains Chung. Accordingly, wealthier merchants could afford to purchase more expensive miso made with rice, whereas farmers and townsfolk often ate miso made with millet, barley, or other common grains.

When the weather gets hot, eggplants can prematurely turn yellow due to sun overexposure. Try using a shade cloth to protect those tender eggplants from sunburn, but don't forget to watch them carefully so you don't miss out! As you've discovered, some summer vegetables can overwinter in milder climates.

What is the tastiest eggplant? ›

One of the most popular was the long, thin, purple eggplant from Taiwan known as Ping Tung. This is an exceptional eggplant with sweet, pleasant tasting flesh. The plants are incredibly prolific and produce throughout the entire season.

Not necessarily; it depends on what you're looking for in the finished dish. Though salting works when you want the eggplant to be creamy and tender — such as with parmigiana — in those cases where you want the eggplant to retain its shape and have a slightly firmer texture — such as ratatouille — you can skip it.

Baba Ghanoush may taste bitter due to factors like the choice of eggplant, insufficient roasting, or the use of too much garlic, lemon juice, or low-quality tahini.

So, how long can I keep miso? Miso is a “preservative food,” that can be kept for a long period of time due to its salt content. If kept in your refrigerator, miso itself does not go bad. In terms of the quality of the taste, miso should remain relatively consistent for up to one year.

In most recipes, the different types of eggplant are interchangeable. If you would like to serve a more delicate eggplant than the common type, use the mild-flavored, excellent Chinese and Japanese varieties. Some cooks are concerned that their eggplant might be bitter.

The skin is edible, so you can leave it on when preparing eggplant. Cut off the stem and then cut into your desired shape—slices and cubes are popular options. Cut off and discard any parts that are turning brown.

Yes, the skin of Chinese eggplant is tender and entirely edible. Unlike the thicker skin of some Western eggplants, Chinese eggplant's skin cooks down to a soft texture, so there's no need to peel it. It also adds color and additional nutrients to the dish.

You can eat nasu dengaku as a side dish, in which case this is enough for four to share, or turn it into a meal on its own with a crunchy, zingy cabbage salad. In either case, you need a bowl of freshly steamed rice nearby as a foil for the richness of this wonderful dish.

No need to remove the skin since they add more flavor and texture to the dish. Thai eggplants easily absorb the flavor and aroma of the curry paste, chilies, basil, kaffir limes, coconut cream, and any vegetables or meat incorporated in the dish.