This recipe is proof that stews don’t always need to be simmered for hours on end to be complex, rich, and satisfying. In this delicious and easy vegetarian stew, eggplants and potatoes are cooked in a deeply savory miso sauce with a funky, salty-sweet richness. Both vegetables act like sponges, with the eggplant becoming tender and creamy and potatoes turning soft and toothsome, while soaking in all the umami flavor of the base. You can use Italian eggplants instead of the Japanese variety called for here, but remember that the Italian variety take longer to cook so increase the cook time by 10–15 minutes (they should feel fully tender when done). Top with crushed peanuts or fried onions for added texture.
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What you’ll need
Dutch Oven
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Glass Measuring Cup
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Wooden Spoon
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Recipe information
Yield
2–4 servings
Ingredients
3
4
6
1
⅓
1
1
1
2
3
Preparation
Step 1
Heat 3 Tbsp. vegetable oil in a medium Dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium. Cook 4 scallions, white and pale green parts only, thinly sliced on a diagonal, 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped, and one 1" piece ginger, peeled, finely chopped, stirring often, until fragrant and garlic is translucent, about 3 minutes. Add ⅓ cup white miso, 1 Tbsp. soy sauce, and 1½ cups water and stir to combine, breaking up any lumps. Stir in 1 Tbsp. unseasoned rice vinegar and 1 tsp. honey.
Step 2
Add 2 large Yukon Gold potatoes (about 1 lb.), peeled, halved lengthwise, sliced crosswise ¼" thick, to pot and bring to a boil. Add 3 medium Japanese or Chinese eggplants (about 1 lb.), quartered lengthwise, cut crosswise into 3"-long pieces, reduce heat, and simmer, stirring occasionally and adding up to ¼ cup more water if needed, until potatoes and eggplant are tender, 12–15 minutes. Remove from heat and add all but 1 Tbsp. thinly sliced dark green scallion parts of 4 scallions. Taste and season with kosher salt if needed.
Step 3
Transfer stew to a large shallow dish or bowl and top with crushed unsalted roasted peanuts and remaining 1 Tbsp. thinly sliced dark green scallion parts.
How would you rate Stewy Miso Eggplant and Potatoes?
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Reviews (9)
Back to TopNice and Easy, didn't take very long and was full of flavour. I didn't have crushed peanuts so I added 1 tsp of Peanut butter and it worked. I also added extra soy sauce and tamari sauce to up the umami. Overall very nice dish, good mouth feel. Follow the instructions, if you add more water, it's going to be watered down. I peeled my eggplant so it was by no means an attractive dish, but it is delicious
Hannah LPM
Prince Rupert, BC
4/20/2023
This is fine, it’s easy, it fits in one pan, and it’s not bad at all, but it needs a lil sumn sumn. I might use a Korean soup soy sauce next time and simmer it in dashi or myeolchi guksu. Maybe some fish sauce? I ate it prepared as-is with some umeboshi instead of adding more salt and it was yummy!
Lexi
San Francisco
3/28/2023
This was better than the reviews had me worried about! I didn’t think there was too much miso or that it was one-note (perhaps because I used about half where, half red miso because it’s what I had on hand). It need a bit more sweetness at the end, so I added another teaspoon of honey, and a dollop of chile crisp for heat. I’ll make this again but wait until eggplants are actually in season. Also I’m not sure why the instructions are to have 3 inch pieces of eggplant; next time I’ll make them more bite-size, like the potatoes.
Melissa
Brooklyn, NY
3/6/2023
I am a miso fanatic. I will eat it off of the spoon while I am making dishes. This was an overwhelming amount of miso. I used 4 Chinese eggplant and almost triple the amount of water. The recipe itself upon first inspection did not look exciting and I was right. I feel like I wasted almost all of the ingredients that I used. Another reviewer commented that this recipe was one note and I would completely agree . I felt l was drinking watered down miso. Zero depth. For a publication that is supposed to be offering innovative and delicious recipes, this is pathetic. I made something similar (loosely) with no recipe this evening and used a quarter of the Miso. I am much happier. I would not recommend this recipe to anyone. Less is more. Goodbye, Bon Appétit. Yuck.
Tara
New haven
3/6/2023
This was disappointing to say the least. I followed the instructions explicitly and what came out was bland - you could barely taste the ingredients, particularly the miso. The photo is also misleading. Unless you use red miso, everything is shades of white. Also very bland.
Peter
Vancouver WA
3/2/2023
I feel like this recipe needs more time in the test kitchen to figure itself out. It required a lot more than 15 minutes for the eggplant to cook fully and get the flavors to meld together and in the end there wasn’t enough sauce. I would definitely double the sauce next time but tbh I’m not going to make this again..
Ash
Washington DC
3/2/2023
I really wanted to like this - its got all my flavors! But I didn't quite accomplish that rich and homey flavor that I expected. Not sure what was missing - maybe I would have subbed in dashi rather than water? Also I wanted the eggplant to be a bit carmelized - it was a bit too one note.
Maile
San Diego, CA
2/28/2023