Miso Baked Eggplant
Serves: 4
Time: 35 minutes
I have always been a fan of eggplant. I love how versatile it is, but it does require a little bit of baking time. If you don’t let the eggplant cookout properly the result is not so yummy. On the plus side once this dish is in the oven you can sit back and relax, so don’t be put off by the time, this dish is scrumptious and worth the wait. I can eat the whole eggplant to myself. Rice goes great with this dish and it has been a bit colder in Sydney which has me worried that summer is over, so I have been craving some carbs but you could just eat this with greens. You might need to make a trip to the Asian grocer depending on your local supermarket, but I’m confident this is a dish you will make again and again.
Save Time
If you prep the rice ahead of time or the night before this will make tonights dinner super quick, all you will have to do is heat the rice up in the microwave or quick fry in a pan.
Leftovers
Leftovers are the exact same meal as dinner, it’s actually very tasty cold, but I would recommend putting through a microwave and having hot.
What you'll need
4 medium eggplants
1 cup of white rice
3 tablespoons white miso paste
3 tablespoons mirin or rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons Chinese cooking wine or sake or sherry
2 bunches of broccolini
1/2 bunch of radishes
1/2 bunch of coriander
From the Pantry
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sesame seeds
salt and pepper
Miso Soup
If it's a cold night a little bowl of miso soup is a cute idea to accompany dinner. Follow packet instructions.
Prep
Preheat Oven to 180
Bake Eggplant
Cut eggplants in half then score the flesh in criss cross lines and sprinkle with salt.
Combine the miso, mirin, ginger, honey and cooking wine and sesame oil in a small pot and bring up to the boil. Remove from heat.
Generously oil the eggplants, then baste the tops heavily with the miso mix and bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Leave enough of the baste for another glazing.
Cook Rice
Rinse the rice off in cold water, then pop into a pot and cover with at least 6 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring up to the boil and cook for 12-15 minutes until rice is al dente - soft but still has a bit of bite. Remove from the heat strain off the water and cover with a tight fitting lid and leave to steam.
Baste Eggplant
After 15 minutes of baking, baste the eggplant with the remainder of your glaze and cook for a further 15 minutes.
Prep Veg
Slice radishes into a round and soak in a bowl of cold water.
Bring a small pot of water up to the boil with a pinch of salt. Cut the woody ends off the broccolini and when your eggplant has finished cooking you can drop the broccolini into the pot for 1 minute. Then strain off water.
Plate it Pretty
Wash the coriander and pick long leafy tips for garnish.
Serve rice and broccolini in separate bowls and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Strain the radishes and put into a serving bowl.
Place the eggplant on serving plates, sprinkle generously with sesame seeds and scatter over picked coriander
Enjoy!
Lunch tomorrow
The lunch leftovers are exactly the same as dinner. There should be enough for a whole eggplant each for lunch.