Instead of hard broiling these purple friends until they’re charred, my favorite way to prep eggplant is to split them in half, score the flesh, and parboil them in salted water before broiling. This cooking method helps the eggplant absorb all the goodness of the sauce and shortens the overall cooking time. See alternatives for special dietary options.
Serves 2
Ingredients
1 large eggplant
1 tbsp white miso
1 tbsp unsalted butter or vegan butter
2 tsp unseasoned rice vinegar
2 tsp light soy sauce or tamari
1-2 tsp sugar (or more if you prefer sweeter)
1 tbsp mirin
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
Sea salt for boiling
Toasted sesame seeds for garnish
Recipe Preparation
Preheat oven to 200C with broil function. Set oven rack to upper half of oven.
Fill a large, shallow frying pan with water up to 1/3 full, add a large pinch of sea salt, and bring water to boil on high heat. Meanwhile, split eggplant in half lengthways and score flesh diagonally (just short of cutting through the skin), forming diamond shapes. With cut side down, boil eggplant in salted water for 5 min. Using tongs, turn over and boil for another 2 min. Discard excess water from pan.
Transfer parboiled eggplant halves to an ovenproof, nonstick baking sheet, cut side up. Drizzle with about 1-1.5 tbsp of olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Broil for 8-10 min on upper oven rack, turning eggplants halfway through, until both sides are browned all over but not charred (you should be able to consume the skin after cooking).
While eggplant is broiling, prepare miso butter.
In a microwave-proof bowl, mix together butter and miso and microwave on 800W for 30 seconds. Remove and stir to combine. If the butter hasn’t melted yet, return to microwave and heat for another 20-30 seconds until butter is melted completely. Add remaining ingredients to bowl and whisk until smooth. Set aside.
Remove baked eggplants onto serving plate, cut side up, and spoon over miso butter and sprinkle with dried chili flakes. Serve warm.
