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Japanese

Nasu dengaku

Vegetarian

茄子田楽 · nasu dengaku

Halved aubergines cooked until meltingly soft, then spread with a sweet miso glaze and grilled until bubbling and caramelised.

Nasu dengaku is a Japanese side dish, ready in about 30 minutes and made with eggplant and miso. It serves 4 and is rated easy to cook.

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Prep
10 min
Cook
20 min
Total
30 min
Serves
4
Level
Easy
Calories
144

Ingredients

4 side servings

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Stir the miso (opens in a new tab), mirin (opens in a new tab), sake (opens in a new tab) and sugar (opens in a new tab) in a small saucepan (opens in a new tab) over low heat until smooth and glossy, about 2 minutes.

  2. Step 2

    Brush the cut sides of the aubergine (opens in a new tab) with oil. Cook cut-side down in a covered frying pan over medium heat, then turn and cook skin-side down until the flesh is completely soft.

  3. Step 3

    Transfer to a tray cut-side up, spread with the miso (opens in a new tab) glaze and grill under high heat until bubbling and lightly charred in spots.

    Watch closely; the sugar burns quickly.

    Food cooking over a grill
    How it looks · Photo: Malte Luk on Pexels

  4. Step 4

    Scatter with sesame seeds (opens in a new tab) and spring onion (opens in a new tab) and serve warm.

      Fresh herbs scattered over a finished dish
      How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

    About this dish

    Origin
    Japan · Well documentedMore food from Japan
    Dish
    Lunch · Dinner · Side dishes · Appetizers & starters
    Cooking method
    Pan-fried, Broiled / grilled under heat
    Taste
    sweet & savoury, umami, creamy, mild
    Diet
    Vegan · Dairy-free · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
    All labelsVegan · Plant-based · Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Ovo-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Dairy-free · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · DASH-style
    Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
    Good for
    Everyday
    Cook more with
    Eggplant · Miso · Mirin · Sake · Sugar
    Techniques
    Broiling · Pan-frying

    Allergens

    • May contain: Glutenfrom miso
    • Contains: Soyfrom miso
    • Contains, can be adapted: Sesamefrom sesame seeds

    Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

    Nutrition

    144 kcal per serving

    Estimated

    1 serving ≈ 159 g · recipe makes 4

    Where the energy comes from

    • Protein 8%
    • Carbohydrate 41%
    • Fat 51%
    Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
    NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
    Energy144 kcal91 kcal
    Protein2.9 g1.8 g
    Carbohydrate14.3 g9 g
    Net carbohydrate9.9 g6.2 g
    Sugars8.3 g5.2 g
    Added sugars——
    Fibre4.4 g2.8 g
    Fat7.8 g4.9 g
    Saturated fat0.7 g0.4 g
    Trans fat0 g0 g
    Cholesterol0 mg0 mg
    Sodium478 mg300 mg
    Salt equivalent1.2 g0.8 g
    Vitamins & minerals per serving
    Potassium
    316 mg
    Calcium
    19 mg
    Iron
    0.6 mg
    Magnesium
    24 mg
    Vitamin A (RAE)
    2 µg
    Vitamin C
    3 mg
    Vitamin D
    0 µg
    Vitamin B12
    0 µg
    Folate (DFE)
    30 µg

    How these numbers were made

    • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
    • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
    • Optional ingredients are not included: sesame seeds, spring onion.
    • Mirin: Sake (FDC 167723) used as a stand-in; true mirin is sweeter, so sugar is underestimated.
    • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
    • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

    Good to know

    Tips

    • Slim Japanese or Asian aubergines cook faster and are less seedy.

    Common mistakes

    • Glazing before the aubergine is fully soft — the miso burns before the flesh is creamy.
    • Leaving it under the grill too long; the sugar in the glaze scorches in seconds.

    Serve with

    • Serve as part of a Japanese spread with rice, grilled fish and miso soup.

    Storage

    • Refrigerate for up to 2 days.

    Reheating

    • Warm under the grill or in a low oven.

    Variations

    • Tofu dengaku: Skewered slabs of firm tofu grilled with the same miso glaze.

    Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

    Recipe DNA

    How this dish is built

    Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

    What the dish is built around

    Main ingredient

    • Eggplant, 2–4 small aubergines, halved lengthways and flesh scored in a crosshatch500 g
    Used in step 2

    Reviews & corrections

    Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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