Yumi Stynes’ Barbecue Miso Eggplant

This is mind-blowingly delicious.

Watch the eggplant as it cooks – after about 15 minutes it suddenly becomes luxuriously soft, hot and creamy. You don’t want to leave it on too long after that as it will get mushy. Try to avoid eggplants with hard skin – they tend to be bitter.

Barbecue miso eggplant

4 medium eggplants, halved lengthways

60ml (¼ cup) peanut, canola or olive oil

2 tablespoons sesame seeds

Glaze

2 tablespoons mirin

2 tablespoons sakè

1 tablespoon sugar

2 tablespoons white miso paste

Preheat barbecue to medium-hot. To make the glaze, mix all the ingredients in a small jar or bowl. Score neat criss-crosses no more than 5mm deep into the cut sides of the eggplant, then lightly brush all over with oil.

Place eggplants, skin side down, on the chargrill plate of the barbecue, close the hood and cook for 8 minutes, then turn eggplant halves onto the cut side and cook for a further 8 minutes with the hood closed.

Flip eggplants one last time, brush cut side with glaze and sprinkle over sesame seeds. Cook for a final 3-5 minutes, or until eggplants are glossy, charred and much smaller than when you started.

Serve hot and eat with a knife and fork. Don’t be afraid to eat the skin – that’s the best bit. Serves 8 as a starter or 4 as a main

Barbecue miso eggplant. Picture: Chris Chen

Tips

* If your barbecue doesn’t have a lid, cover eggplants with a baking tray.

* Leftovers are delicious squished into a tortilla with cheese and grilled.

* Glaze will last two weeks in the fridge so you can prepare it well in advance.

Yumi Stynes is a Sydney-based TV and radio presenter whose food reflects her Japanese-Australian heritage. Edited extract from The Zero F*cks Cookbook by Yumi Stynes (Hardie Grant Books, $39.99). Photography: Chris Chen