Japanese Eggplants

I’ve seen a bunch of these lovelies in grocery stores lately. I am fairly new to them, so I figured I should give them a go! Since they come from Japan, I figured they’d go nicely with miso. I use miso to give flavor to soups and Asian vegetarian dishes.

JAPANESE EGGPLANTS

In order to make your eggplants crispy rather than rubbery, you have to “sweat” the eggplants.
Cut the eggplants in half, sprinkle plenty of salt on top, and let them sit/sweat for about 20min.
With a paper towel, wipe any extra liquid and salt off, cut slices on the eggplant, and brush the prepared paste on them.

Mix together:
2 tbsp of red miso
2 tbsp of mirin
1 tbsp of maple syrup
1 tbsp of olive oil
1 ts of sesame oil

Heat the oven to 220 degrees and bake eggplants for 20-25 minutes, or until the eggplants look nice and toasted.
Decorate with parsley and sesame seeds.

Enjoy as an appetizer and pair it with a chilled drink!