"Easily cut into silky cubes, set aside and add a broth...I use miso. Then into the oven to heat and toast. Bread crumbs?, garlic, ..."

Are you adding the broth to the eggplant at this point? I guess I don't understand the toasting part if it's in a liquid.

I'm a little confused too. Tell me more about the miso broth.

I tend to avoid eggplant. Don't like using all that oil. Couple years ago I started roasting slices for use in gratin or parmesan, but then there's all that cheese.

Your method is intriguing.

There's another version of Japanese eggplant that I've eaten in Osaka and then again in San Francisco. It's slices of eggplant baked three times with a miso paste. That's all I really remember other than at the restaurant in San Francisco it was all I ate - five or six servings it was so good!

CindyMac- My hubby bought me an air fryer for Xmas and I was able to make an almost perfect eggplant parm with just a spritz of spray OO and some breadcrubs! The usual sauce and a limited amount of cheese.

Years ago at a cooking class in Viet Nam I made a really good eggplant with garlic and chili which didn't have tons of oil or require the slicing and salting thing. The eggplants were those small stripey ones. It's one of the few ways I have actually enjoyed eating eggplant: not a fan of e. Parmesan etc.

It looks really delicious with those small young eggplants. You might also try growing some Japanese or Chinese eggplants, long and slender. You can get them in an Asian market or grow your own.

I'll have to try that! I was at the Japanese market (Marukai) yesterday on our way back from Westwood (I had a meeting at UCLA hospital), and Marukai was on the way back, as was the liquor store. I did buy more bonito flakes (which I used this morning on okonomiyaki), and if I had read this recipe, I would have bought Japanese eggplant.

Thanks for sharing!

That looks delicious! Thank you for including the way you prepare it - I'd never have thought to blister/char eggplants, but in your photo, they look so soft and tender afterwards (buttery, as you describe). The miso broth sounds like a wonderful accompaniment, especially with breadcrumbs.. or perhaps even buttery croutons, along with a tad of minced garlic?

I've never tried bonito flakes. Mostly because I somewhat fear they will taste fishy. All palettes differ, and perhaps mine isn't sophisticated enough, but do bonito flakes taste like fish sauce? I always reduce fish sauce by half in recipes otherwise I taste fish, rather than the saltiness it's to provide. On the other hand, sardines, which do taste fishy to me alone, taste lovely when added to recipes that call for them.

Sleevendog, you're quite the educator here. I'm always trying to expand our food horizons : ) Pho Ga was my first real attempt at anything Asian other than stir fry and spring rolls, and I loved how it was so like fresh chicken soup, but different. Coconut curry was next, and that was a bigger surprise with the richness. It took me a few years but apparently my palate changed, as fresh ginger is something I adore whereas once did not care for (go figure). Cilantro still tastes like dirt to me, darn it!

I am finding that some ingredients vary in taste and perhaps quality depending on brand name. I've purchased a few hoisen sauces, but my favorite is thick and fairly sweet, and I use it in a lot of recipes when experimenting.

So, that leads me to thinking the bonita flakes are something we should try. And to yet another question...

The miso paste (and again, thank you for the lovely photos, they are so helpful!) comes in so many flavors/types, but which does one typically use for what, and specifically, your re-found NasuDengaku?