A few days ago, Susan over at Kittens Gone Lentil offhandedly mentioned enjoying eggplant dengaku, and I was intrigued: I’d never heard of it! (Or so I thought.) Turns out, there’s an eggplant dengaku recipe in Appetite for Reduction, one of my all-time favorite cookbooks. I had to try it!

Isa’s recipe has you slice and broil the eggplant, then brush the slices with a sweet and salty (but incredibly simple!) miso sauce. Sounds like a recipe for deliciousness, and it is. I had a pound of those cute thin little Japanese eggplants from the farmers market, so I sliced them up. The recipe is intended for two pounds of eggplant, though, so I decided to supplement with a head of broccoli instead. Why not?! Instead of broiling the broc, I chopped it into florets and roasted it, then put the florets on the pan with the broiled eggplant slices, glazed everything, and gave it all a final quick broil until the miso sauce bubbled.

I served my eggplant and broccoli dengaku with some brown rice and topped everything with scallions. I also whipped up a quick spicy peanut sauce because I didn’t think the glaze would provide enough sauciness for the rice, but it wasn’t entirely necessary. What a flavorful dish! The miso is so robust, and it pairs so well with the meltingly soft eggplant. It was almost too salty for me, though, so I think I’ll reduce the miso and soy sauce next time I make it.

I’m so glad I tried this recipe — it’s one I’ve overlooked in AfR all these years. Shame on me! And now I know that if I ever see vegan eggplant dengaku on a menu, I’d be wise to order it.

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