Okay, I'll let you in on a secret. I used to not like eggplant that much because I didn't know how to cook it properly. Boy did I not know how much I was missing out! If you're on the fence about eggplant too, try this miso roasted eggplant and I promise you you'll love it!
You really just need to give eggplant enough time to cook. If you undercook it, the skin is going to be really tough and hard to chew. Properly cooked eggplant should be falling apart and become really soft. The key for perfectly cooked eggplant besides the time on the oven is enough seasoning.
Marinate your eggplant. I chose a mix of tamari, miso, sesame oil, rice vinegar, maple syrup, and spices for this one but you could be really creative here. Eggplant is like a sponge - it soaks up any liquid really fast and needs to be seasoned really well before cooking. Otherwise, you're just going to end up with bitter eggplant chunks and no one wants that. It's like tofu, it's the seasoning that makes it so great and changes it from okay to amazing.
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I served the roasted eggplant with simple while basmati rice here but you can serve it with brown rice, red rice would be really good as a side here too, or quinoa. I've had this with mashed potatoes and rice noodles before too and it's really good (Honestly, what isn't good with mashed potatoes?!) Or on a salad! I also topped it all with hummus, the creaminess of it compliments the spiciness of the miso roasted eggplant really well.
Do you need to soak the eggplant in salted water to get rid of the bitterness?
Simple answer, no. I've tried it before but it's too time-consuming and the result just isn't worth the extra effort, I can hardly tell the difference. I've also read that the smaller the eggplant, the less bitter it is so keep that in mind when buying it.
I used a mix of eggplants here to make it more fun - dark purple, light purple, white (first time ever seeing white eggplant!). They all look pretty similar when cooked but they all have a little different texture when cooked so it's fun to mix it up.
I hope you love this recipe as much as I do, it's definitely one of my favorites.
Other recipes you might enjoy:
Vegan Mashed Potatoes with Caraway Seeds
Quinoa Salad with Pomegranate Seeds and Lemon Dressing
📖 Recipe
Spicy Garlic Miso Roasted Eggplant
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Total Time: 1 hour
- Yield: 2-4 1x
- Category: Main Dish
- Method: Roasting
- Cuisine: Asian
- Diet: Vegan
Description
Delicious caramelized eggplant roasted with miso, sesame oil, chili garlic sauce, and spices. Serve with rice and toasted sesame seeds (GF, V)
Ingredients
Eggplant:
- 2 tbsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp sesame oil (or more toasted sesame oil)
- 1 Tbsp maple syrup
- 2 tbsp tamari
- 1 tbsp miso paste
- 2 Tsp rice vinegar
- ½-1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce (or to taste, it will be spicier after it cooks)
- 1 Tsp garlic powder
- 1 Tsp dried parsley
- Black pepper to taste
- 3-4 eggplants (about 10-12 cups when diced)
- a small bunch of parsley, finely chopped (you need about ½ cup chopped, divided)
- 2 tbsp unhulled sesame seeds
- Hummus (optional, for serving)
Rice:
- 1 cup dry basmati rice
- 1 ¾ cup water
- Small pinch sea salt
- 1 Tsp toasted sesame oil
- 2 tbsp of the fresh chopped parsley
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425F.
- Start by making the marinade. Mix the toasted sesame oil, regular sesame oil, maple syrup, tamari, miso paste, rice vinegar, chili garlic sauce, garlic powder, dried parsley, and black pepper in a small bowl or a mason jar and mix until well combined. Set aside.
- Cut off both ends of the eggplants and dice them a little bigger than bite-size, about ½” thick (they’ll cook down).
- Transfer them to a baking dish (I used two to space them out ) and drizzle evenly with the marinade.
- Toss everything to coat evenly.
- Roast in the oven for 40-50 minutes depending on how big or small you diced the eggplant. Toss once or twice throughout roasting.
- To toast the sesame seeds, heat a pan over high heat, when it’s hot add the sesame seeds and toast for a few minutes until golden and fragrant making sure they don’t burn (they shouldn’t be smoking). Set aside until ready to plate.
- Cooking the rice: Thoroughly rinse the rice until the water runs clear. Place all ingredients in a medium saucepan, stir, and bring to a boil. Cover with a lid, lower the heat, and cook for 7-10 mins. Take off heat, remove the lid, fluff the rice, add the toasted sesame oil and parsley and cover back up. Let it rest for 5-10 mins and serve.
- Serve the eggplant with the rice, a sprinkle of the toasted sesame seeds, and the rest of the fresh parsley.
Notes
Great served with rice, quinoa, mashed potatoes, or even rice noodles. Also perfect as a side.
Krizzia Scollon
This looks really good! I don't really eat eggplants but this recipe looks amazing that it convinced me to try it!!
Bernice Hill
Wow! I had no idea you could marinate eggplant. I can see where knowing how to properly cook this mystery vegetable can take it from a mere sponge to something glorious.
Aishwaryaa
Such an amazing combination with rice. I like aubergine 🍆 less but I like your recipe which makes me to give it a try. Thanks for the yummy recipe.
Eileen M Loya
A very interesting eggplant recipe. I have to try this! I don't have most of the ingredients in the list, but I am adding them to my grocery list this week so I can try this recipe.
Kathryn Donangelo
This recipe is now one of my favorites! I love miso flavored veggies and the miso on the eggplant pairs perfectly. This reminds me of one of my favorite dishes from a local restaurant and so glad I could make it at home!
girija
I am veggeie lover and this is a yummy recipe with egg plant. Will give this recipe a try soon. Thanks for sharing.
rachel
I used to be the same way but now I'm obsessed with eggplant! Can't wait to try this.
Ramona
WOW! This recipe looks just perfect and adorable. I love the pictures and the backrounds that you took and put together, the whole setting is just so cute! this looks so interesting and i love how you made it with eggplant. The combination of the whole dish is just making me drool!
Erin
I guess I'll have to try this because I also don't like eggplant! But I've only ever had it fried in a massive amount of olive oil. This sounds great!
Paula Montenegro
This is the type of recipe I always like running into, something different to make with eggplant. I'm such an eggplant fan! Thanks for sharing this, I can't wait to try it, so flavorfu and interesting.
Alex
My son loves eggplant but I always make it the same way. I totally need to try this!
Aditi Bahl
I so liked the recipe. It looks as lovely as the flavors. Tried these and they came out lovely.
Veronika
I love roasting eggplant! It's perfectly comforting, yet healthy. Going to try your version, it looks absolutely delicious!
Moop Brown
What a healthy and unique recipe! I'm a big fan of eggplants and love your take on it. Thanks!
Tammy
I love the Asian flavors at play here...such a delicious idea! Roasted eggplant is one of my favorites...cannot wait to try this :D
Alyson Stanfield
This is phenomenal! I made a little extra marinade and am glad I did because it’s so yummy. I didn’t have toasted sesame oil (just regular sesame oil) so don’t know what I missed. Increased the heat a bit with more chili-garlic sauce. This is going to be a staple in our house. Thank you.