Air fryer + Japanese eggplant + miso sauce = this incredibly tender, sweet and savoury Nasu Dengaku recipe. The miso glaze is slathered on the eggplants and then air fried for an irresistible melt-in-your-mouth texture and rich umami flavor. And this is coming from a former eggplant hater!

Nasu dengaku (sesame Japanese eggplants) over a bed of rice.

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A History of Nasu Dengaku

Unlike other Japanese dishes such as Hiyayakko or Furikake, the origins of Nasu Dengaku are rather shrouded in mystery.

The name is simple enough: “nasu” means eggplant, while “dengaku” encompasses a whole family of Japanese dishes that are slathered in miso.

For example, tofu dengaku is a thing (miso-glazed grilled tofu), and so is konnyaku dengaku (boiled konjac yam covered in thick miso sauce).

This cooking technique dates back to at least the 16th century, during Japan’s Edo Period, if not earlier. The first type of dengaku was tofu dengaku, but now it’s just as common to see miso-grilled veggies, especially eggplant, daikon, or konjac.

But as to when and how this particular eggplant variant was invented, that’s a bit more difficult to say. I haven’t found any reliable English language sources about the history of nasu dengaku, so if you know more, I would love to hear from you.

What You’ll Need

Ingredients for nasu dengaku laid out on the countertop.

A few important notes on some of the ingredients used in this Nasu Dengaku recipe:

The only main ingredient you’ll need is a Japanese eggplant, which is the long thin variety of eggplant. It’s basically identical to the Chinese eggplant except that it has a darker purple skin. You can also use any regular eggplant variety too. They all taste basically the same in this recipe.

Tip: If you love te soft cooked texture of eggplants, you may also enjoy my Borani Banjan (Afghan Eggplant Casserole) recipe.

For the miso sauce mixture:

Mix together miso paste, mirin, sake, sugar, and toasted white sesame seeds to make the sauce. You may notice that there is no soy sauce in this recipe, rare for a Japanese recipe, cuz all of the umami comes from the miso paste!

You’ll also want some sesame oil for seasoning the eggplants before air frying, and lastly don’t forget some scallions for topping!

For a full list of ingredients and quantities, refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Step-by-Step Process

Mix the sesame sauce and slice up the eggplants.

Step 1: Preheat air fryer to 400 °F. Meanwhile, mix miso paste, mirin, sake, sugar, and sesame seeds together in a small bowl.

Step 2: Cut the stem off of the eggplant and slice it in half. Score the inside of the eggplant with a criss-cross pattern.

Rub sesame oil over the cross-hatched eggplants and put them in the air fryer.

Step 3: Rub sesame oil all over the scored eggplant halves.

Step 4: Put the eggplants face down into the air fryer and cook for 10 minutes.

Roasted sesame Japanese eggplants topped with green onions.

Step 5: Open the air fryer and flip the eggplants. Brush the miso sauce onto the open face of the eggplants. Turn the heat down and cook another 10 minutes.

Step 6: Sprinkle chopped scallions over the cooked nasu dengaku and serve on its own as a side, or over steamed white rice.

Meal Prep & Storage Tips

Fridge: Store nasu dengaku in the fridge for up to four days.

Freezer: I have not tried freezing this eggplant yet.

What to Serve with Nasu Dengaku

More Japanese Recipes

Recipe Card

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