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–+ servings
Japanese white miso eggplant garnished with chopped green onion

30-Minute Japanese Miso Eggplant

This easy 30-minute Japanese miso eggplant recipe is perfect for a quick, delicious night meal. It's also a dream dish for any eggplant lover.
5 from 11 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 2 people
Author: Tu

Equipment

  • Rimmed baking pan lined with oil absorbed paper

Ingredients 

  • 2 Asian eggplants peeled, cut into 2x5 sticks
  • 2 sprig green onion chopped, for garnish
  • 2-3 c vegetable oil for frying

Miso sauce

  • 5 oz white miso (shiro miso) paste
  • 2 oz sugar
  • 1.5 c mirin or 1 c of sugar for substitution
  • 1 c water

Instructions

Making miso sauce

  • In a small sauce pan, combine all ingredients on medium heat and bring to simmering point. Let the mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes or until it reduced by half.
    5 oz white miso (shiro miso) paste, 2 oz sugar, 1.5 c mirin, 1 c water
  • Turn off the heat. The mixture still has a liquidy-texture. Set aside for later use.

Frying eggplant

  • Fill a big pot with vegetable oil for frying. Bring oil to 350F-375F.
    2-3 c vegetable oil
  • Work in small batch and quickly blanch eggplants in hot oil. Each batch should be around 3-4 minutes. Eggplants should have a very light golden bright color. Don't let them turn too dark.
    2 Asian eggplants
  • Take fried eggplant out and lay on rimmed baking pan already lined with oil absorbed paper.

Stir-frying miso eggplants

  • In a medium sauteed pan, add already-fried eggplants (about 6-7 sticks) and cook on medium heat. If the heat is set too high, when miso sauce is added, it will be burned very quickly.
  • Carefully stir eggplants then add enough miso sauce to coat the eggplant thoroughly (about2 tbsp).
  • Take off the heat and serve immediately, garnish with green onions. Enjoy!
    2 sprig green onion

Notes

Optional garnishes:

  • Nori: this is used as garnish and optional. Nori is also vegan friendly.
  • Toasted sesame seeds: optional, used for garnish. White sesame seeds work better due to its brighten color.
  • Bonito flakes: this is optional. Thus bonito flakes are made from fish, so if you use this as garnish, please keep in mind it won't be a vegan recipe anymore.

How long does the miso sauce last?

The miso sauce in this miso eggplant recipe can be kept in an air tight container, under refrigeration for up to 2 months.

Can this recipe be made ahead of time?

Definitely. You can make miso sauce and fry eggplant in advance. Then keep both in an air tight container. As for fried eggplant, it's better to have a layer of oil-absorbed paper towel inside the container to prevent them becoming soggy. Then when you're ready to serve, just take both of them out of the fridge and proceed with stir-frying step in the recipe.