The soft „meat“ of the eggplant, soaked with flavour of the sesame miso marinade combined with creamy coconut rice and a baby spinach salad. Way easier than it sounds. And so delicious. 30 minutes, full of flavour, healthy and comforting.
I have never been to Japan, unfortunately, but it definitely is one of the top destinations of my travel list. I just really like all of the flavours, spices and fermented goods in their cuisine. Since the current situation makes travelling a bit difficult, it is time for us to bring Japan home! Taking the delicious and decadent flavours and making masterpieces out of them in the kitchen! And also, here is no better way to start into the slightly colder season than with some good comfort food. Heating up the oven and baking and the bubbling food on the stove. A super soft on the inside eggplant and creamy rice is the perfect dish for such occasions.
What is special about this dish?
Kind of everything, to be honest. The eggplant that is prepared and soaked up with the slightly sweet but so delicious asian marinade and baked to perfection and the rice that is not you average side dish rice but made with much more flavour.
What is miso and where can you get it?
Miso is a paste made from fermented soy beans and salt. It originated in Japan and is typically used in Asian, especially Japanese cuisine. Probably it’s most common use is in miso soup, which you can find at most Japanese restaurants. There are several different kinds of miso paste, from black to yellow and sweet so sour. For this recipe, I would recommend using a yellow/ light one without added sugar since we are adding the sweetness ourselves.
You can find Miso paste at pretty much any asian grocery store. It also often can be found at health stores or organic markets because of its high content of probiotics (through fermentation) or speciality stores.
Is this dish healthy?
I would definitely say so! You get great nutrients such as vitamins and fibre form the eggplant and also healthy probiotics from the miso (although there won’t be as much due to heating it up). The rice adds some great carbohydrates and protein and the coconut milk adds a healthy dose of fats. The only thing you should note is that this dish is a bit high in sodium because of its Miso and soy sauce content. If you have issues with sodium or make it sodium reduced, you can long for sodium reduced soy sauce, which you can find at any supermarket!
Meal prep & friendly?!
Yes and yes! You can very well store this in containers and heat it up whenever you want to enjoy it. The flavours will stay and consistency wise the reheating won’t be a problem. It also is pretty family friendly and a great way to sneak some more veggies onto the plates. If in your family, someone cannot go without meat, an easy way to include this is to just add some chicken, prawns or any other meat/ seafood of your preference into the marinade and then just fry it up in a pan while the eggplant is baking!
I hope that you will enjoy this recipe and that it gets you a little bit excited for the colder season ahead of us!
Super easy roasted sesame miso eggplant with coconut rice
Soft eggplant that is full of flavor and easy to make paired with some dreamy, creamy coconut rice and a fresh salad!
What you will need
For the eggplant:
- 2 eggplants
- 1 tbsp Tahini
- 3 tbsp miso paste
- 1 tbsp sesame oil
- a few drops Worcestershire sauce
- 1 tsp hot sauce
- 6 tbsp soy sauce
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
For the rice:
- 250 g rice
- 200 ml coconut milk
- 300 ml water
For the rest:
- 4 handful baby spinach
- 2 scallions (spring onions)
- 2 tbsp sesame seeds
How to
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Cut the eggplants lengthwise. Carefully cut a grid-pattern into each half of the eggplant. This only is supposed to add some depth to the eggplant to soak up the flavor better. Do not cut the eggplant through!
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In a bowl/ tupperware combine all of the inrgedients for the sauce. Place the eggplant halfes, pattern side down in the marinade and let marinade for about 2-4 hours if you have got the time (if you do not, continue on from the next step).
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Preheat the oven to 200°C. Place the eggplant halves on a baking tray and brush some of that remaining dressing into the grids. Bake the eggplant for 25-30 minutes. Take them out of the oven, heat it up to 225°C. Brush the eggplants again and bake for another 5 minutes.
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In the meantime add the rice along with the coconut milk, some salt and water to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and let simmer until all liquid is absorbed. Cover and let steam on very low heat for another 3-5 minutes until the rice is soft.
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Wash the baby spinach and toss it with some slat, pepper,a nd the remaining eggplant marinade.
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Divide the rice and salad onto the plates and add the eggplant on top. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, chopped up scallions and cliantro. Enjoy!
Happy cooking,
Enjoy,
Katie // Une Petite Cuisinière
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