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Miso caramel eggplant is a flavorful dish that turns eggplant into a tender, caramelized delight. The marinade — made from miso, sesame, and maple syrup — balances savory and sweet flavors perfectly. Eggplant’s sponge-like quality allows it to absorb the rich glaze, transforming it into something truly yummy.
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This dish, from Sasha Gill’s cookbook East Meets Vegan, is naturally gluten-free if you use gluten-free miso paste. After baking, finish off the eggplants with sesame seeds for crunch and garnished with scallions and red chili slices for a fresh finish. It pairs well with steamed rice, noodles, or even a light green salad, making it a versatile option for any meal.
Serve this dish as a side or the star of a plant-based dinner. It’s simple to prepare but bold in flavor, ideal for sharing with family or impressing guests.
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Miso caramel eggplant
Ingredients
- 4 eggplants
- ¼ cup (70 g) miso paste (buy gluten-free)
- 2 teaspoons sesame oil
- ¼ cup 60 ml maple syrup
- ¼ cup 60 ml warm water
- 1 cm ginger finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon black sesame seeds
- 1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon white sesame seeds
- Sliced scallion and red chili to garnish
Instructions
- Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, then score each eggplant half with a diamond pattern, making sure not to cut right through to the skin.
- In a bowl, whisk together the miso, sesame oil, maple syrup, warm water, ginger and garlic powder to make a marinade. Pour into a roasting pan and lay the eggplants, scored side down, in the marinade. Leave to marinate for 1–2 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C). Cover the roasting pan with foil and bake the eggplants for 30–35 minutes, until very tender. Remove from the oven, take off the foil and flip the eggplants over, then spoon some of the cooking juices from the pan over the eggplants.
- Sprinkle with a generous layer of sesame seeds, then return to the oven, uncovered, for another 5 minutes to toast the sesame seeds and give them a lovely crunch.
- Serve garnished with scallion and chili slices. If you like, you can pour any remaining cooking juices into a small bowl and serve alongside the eggplant.
Recipe from East Meets Vegan: The Best of Asian Home Cooking, Plant-Based and Delicious © Sasha Gill, 2019. Reprinted by permission of the publisher, The Experiment. Available everywhere books are sold. experimentpublishing.com
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