This easy recipe for doenjang glazed eggplant is a wonderful first foray into Korean cooking.
For years now I’ve been contemplating Korean cuisine with equal parts excitement and trepidation. I’ve been going out to Korean restaurants, noting how vibrant the flavors and how nuanced the preparations, but I haven’t done very much at home.
Regular batches of homemade kimchi, yes, and kimchi fried rice, but that’s about it — until I received a review copy of Judy Joo’s Korean Food Made Simple.
Judy Joo is a Korean-American chef with a few restaurants and television shows to her name, and this is her first book, in which she shares 100+ recipes for Korean classics, plus a few East-meets-West creations.
It is the most un-intimidating book of Korean cooking I’ve seen in a while. The section on Korean staples alone is worth memorizing, and the recipes all feel very approachable. I look forward to tackling the noodles with black bean sauce (jjajangmyun), the roasted pork belly lettuce wraps (bossam), and the caramel doenjang ice cream, to name just a few.
But as a lover of all things eggplant, the first recipe I did try was for doenjang glazed aubergines, a Korean take on the Japanese classic nasu dengaku.
Instead of using miso paste, this recipe calls for the Korean equivalent, doenjang, a fermented soybean paste that is dark brown, richly flavored, and coarser than your average miso. (You should be able to find it at your local Asian market, and you can substitute red miso if that’s easier to find.)
The glaze is very quick to put together, and then you simply brush it onto halved and roasted eggplant, before broiling for a few minutes, until lightly caramelized.
Sprinkled with sesame and scallions, presented warm or at room temperature, it is a beautiful side to go with grilled chicken or lamb skewers. And served over steamed white rice, it makes for a fabulous vegan lunch, one you can take to the office or to the nearest park bench for a picnic date with yourself (because you’re totally missing out if you don’t have those).
PS: My favorite Korean spots in Paris are Korean supermarket K-Mart (6 rue Sainte-Anne in the 1st), and Korean restaurants Sobane (5 rue de la Tour d’Auvergne in the 9th, and 64 rue d’Hauteville in the 10th), Ssam (in the 10th), and L’Arbre de Sel (138 rue de Vaugirard in the 15th). I have been steeply disappointed by Mandoobar, but I wanted to love it so much I might give it another chance, and I’ve yet to try the famed Korean fried chicken at Hero.
PPS: If you read French, you have got to check this out!
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Doenjang Glazed Eggplant Recipe
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 35 minutes
Serves 4.
Ingredients
- 4 medium eggplants
- Olive oil, for brushing
- 3 spring onions, thinly sliced
- Sesame seeds, for serving
- Steamed rice, for serving
For the doenjang glaze:
- 125 grams (4 1/2 ounces, about 1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons) doenjang (Korean soybean paste, available at Korean markets; substitute red miso)
- 50 grams (3 level tablespoons) honey
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce (I use tamari)
- 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- 5 cloves garlic, germ removed, finely chopped
Instructions
- Put the doenjang glaze ingredients (doenjang, honey, soy sauce, sesame oil, garlic) in a medium bowl, and stir well to combine. (This can be prepared a couple of days in advance; keep in an airtight container in the fridge.)
- Preheat the oven to 200 °C (400 °F).
- Slice the eggplants in half lengthwise, and cut criss-cross slits in the flesh without cutting through to the skin. Brush the cut side with a little oil.
- Arrange the eggplants, cut side down, on a rimmed baking sheet.
- Bake for 20 to 30 minutes, depending on size, until the flesh is cooked through and very tender.
- Flip the eggplants so the flesh side faces up.
- Brush with the doenjang glaze (you won't need all of it, see note), and place under the broiler of the oven for 3 to 4 minutes, until the glaze starts to caramelize. (Watch closely so it doesn't burn.)
- Sprinkle with spring onions and sesame, and serve over steamed rice. (For eating with chopsticks or a fork, cut the eggplant into bite-size pieces with kitchen shears.)
Notes
- Adapted from Judy Joo's book Korean Food Made Simple.
- The leftover doenjang sauce can be used as a marinade for chicken, lamb, tofu, or as a sauce in these quick nori rolls.
https://cnz.to/recipes/vegetables-grains/doenjang-glazed-eggplant-recipe/
Unless otherwise noted, all recipes are copyright Clotilde Dusoulier.
FAQs
Eggplants are known to absorb a lot of fat while cooking. A useful tip to prevent sogginess and greasiness is to salt sliced or diced eggplant and let it sit for an hour. This helps to draw out moisture. Next, rinse and drain any liquid from the sliced eggplant, then pat dry before cooking.
Why is my baked eggplant watery? ›
Not cooking it in enough fat.
The flesh of eggplant is like a sponge — it will immediately soak up any liquid it touches. Drizzle a spoonful of olive oil over cubes before roasting them and you'll see that it's already soaked through the flesh before the baking sheet even gets into the oven.
How do you make eggplant taste better? ›
Sweating the eggplant will give it a salty flavor and tender texture, while roasting the eggplant will make it smoky and will give it a golden crust. I sweat eggplant when I'm going to fry it for Eggplant Parmesan, and roast it when I'm making pasta with a caponata sauce.
What happens if you don't salt eggplant before cooking? ›
Older recipes call for salting eggplant to draw out the bitter juices, but today's eggplants are less bitter (unless very large), so salting is largely unnecessary. It will, however, help the spongy flesh absorb less oil and crisp up like a dream.
Should you soak eggplant in milk or salt water? ›
Soak eggplant slices or cubes in milk for about 30 minutes before cooking. The milk not only tempers the bitterness, but it actually makes for eggplant that is extra creamy, since the vegetable acts like a sponge and soaks up a good amount of milk in its flesh.
How long does eggplant take to cook? ›
Depending on variety and size, and how they are cut, eggplants take 15 to 25 minutes to fully cook. Undercook them and you'll be left with a bitter-tasting veggie that has the texture of a cotton ball, says Norton. "Most recipes can accurately predict how much time it will take for eggplants to fully cook.
Should you peel eggplant before cooking? ›
While the skin of a small young eggplant is edible, the skin becomes bitter on larger or older eggplants and should be peeled. When in doubt, the answer to, "Do you peel eggplant before cooking?" is yes, peel it. Use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the skin.
Why does my eggplant taste bitter? ›
Eggplants can have the alkaloid solanine, which can give it a bitter taste. “Another compound possibly contributing to eggplant's bitterness is anthocyanin, which is a phytochemical that gives eggplant its pretty purple hue and can act like an antioxidant when we consume it,” says Nichole Dandrea-Russert, MS, RDN.
Why do you soak eggplant in vinegar? ›
Soaking eggplant in water and vinegar helps remove some of the vegetable's natural bitterness. This step also helps preserve some of the skin's color so it stays a vibrant purple even after cooking.
Does Epsom salt help eggplant? ›
As the plants grow, they need an even moisture supply. They do well with a drip irrigation system, but many watering methods work. When the first blossoms appear, spray the plants with a seaweed extract with one teaspoon of Epsom salts dissolved per gallon. The solution improves fruit set.
When it's cooked, “it should turn fully tender, all the flesh should be somewhat custardy. If you have to, hammer it a bit, knock it around, let it start to collapse.” When you're roasting eggplant, like in YuChen's recipe, “make sure you give them enough space so they can cook evenly,” she says.
When should you not eat eggplant? ›
When looking at the exterior of the eggplant, check the stem and cap. Both should be green and fresh-looking. If they are starting to fade in color, that's an indicator that the vegetable may be spoiling. You'll also want to toss the eggplant if there is any mold on the stem or cap.
What are the side effects of eggplant? ›
The veggie can cause allergies in rare scenarios and the symptoms include difficulty in breathing, swelling and hives. In some cases, eggplant can also cause anaphylaxis.
How do you cook eggplant so it's not spongy? ›
“The absorptiveness of eggplant can be reduced by collapsing its spongy structure before frying,” he writes. Which you can do by microwaving it before frying (!) or salting slices that'll draw out the water and close up those air pockets, giving you a firmer flesh to work with.
Is it necessary to peel eggplant before cooking? ›
While the skin of a small young eggplant is edible, the skin becomes bitter on larger or older eggplants and should be peeled. When in doubt, the answer to, "Do you peel eggplant before cooking?" is yes, peel it. Use a vegetable peeler or paring knife to remove the skin.
How to prevent eggplant from absorbing oil when frying? ›
Typically eggplant behaves like a sponge, soaking up heroic amounts of oil when fried. The Terzo Piano chefs use this trick to prevent heavy aubergines: Before frying, soak the strips of eggplant in an ice water bath. They will absorb water and drop in temperature.
Regular batches of homemade kimchi, yes, and kimchi fried rice, but that’s about it — until I received a review copy of Judy Joo’s Korean Food Made Simple.
