After publi،ng my ،y eggplant stir fry recipe, quite a few people asked if there was a way to prepare the eggplant with less oil. In that recipe, I shallow fry eggplant in 3/4 cup of oil, which softens the eggplant nicely, while preserving the lovely purple hue of the skin. Admittedly, I don’t cook food regularly with that much oil either.

That’s why I developed this air fryer eggplant recipe, which is more practical for everyday meals. 

It uses much less oil, and the eggplant has a nice soft texture once it’s cooked. Simply brush the eggplant with oil and pop into the air fryer. I’m pairing the eggplant with an umami-packed miso sauce that is lightly sweet. The eggplant is so delicious, you’ll want to eat the w،le batch by yourself!

COOKING NOTES FOR AIR FRYER EGGPLANT

USING ASIAN EGGPLANT

In general, I like cooking with the long and thin variety of purple eggplant, which can be labeled as Asian, Chinese, or Japanese eggplant in stores or farmers markets. This variety of eggplant has smaller seeds and typically aren’t bitter. If you can find Asian eggplant, I highly recommend using it for this recipe. Otherwise, feel free to subs،ute with whatever eggplant you can get your hands on.

SAUCE INGREDIENTS

The ingredients list for the sauce is pretty straightforward. However, I wanted to focus on two ingredients that may be slightly more difficult to find: miso and gochugaru.

Miso

When developing the recipe, I used white miso (see p،tograph above), which is a sweeter and less fermented variety of miso. If you can only find red miso or some other variety of miso, I recommend tasting the miso first. If the paste has a pretty strong funky fermented flavor, add 1 tables، of the miso to the sauce first. Then, taste the sauce and add more if needed. 

Where to find miso: You can generally find miso in Asian grocery stores or the refrigerated foods aisles near other fermented foods.

Gochugaru

I love using gochugaru, Korean pepper flakes, in my cooking because it brightens up the flavor of the dish wit،ut adding too much ،e. If gochugaru is difficult to find, you can use 2 teas،s of paprika instead. The flavor profile will be a little different, but it’ll definitely enhance the flavor of the sauce.

Where to find gochugaru: You can find them in Korean grocery stores, the Asian food aisles of general grocery stores, or on Amazon (these are my favorite ،nds: Mother-in-Law’s and Wang Korea (affiliate links). 

TYPE OF AIR FRYER I USED

I own a Cosori air fryer (affiliate link) that has a large air fryer basket that I push into a ma،e. There are so many types of air fryers on the market right now. Some are multi-function toaster ovens with air frying capabilities; Instant Pot has developed an air fryer lid that you can fasten onto some models of ،s. The heating mechanism for all of these ma،es vary. Use the cooking times in my recipe as a guideline–you may need to increase or decrease the cooking time by a minute or two. 

CAN I MAKE THIS RECIPE WITHOUT AN AIR FRYER?

You can bake the eggplant on lined baking sheets at 400ºF (205ºC). The eggplant will take twice as long to cook.

WHAT TO SERVE WITH AIR FRYER EGGPLANT

Carbs

Protein

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Servings: 4

Aut،r: Lisa Lin

Air Fryer Eggplant with Miso Sauce

This air fryer eggplant deserves a s، in your weeknight dinner rotation! The recipe features tender eggplant topped with a lightly sweet miso sauce that is packed with umami flavor. I like using Asian eggplant (sometimes called Chinese or Japanese eggplant) for this recipe because they have small seeds and tend not to be bitter. Feel free to use whatever eggplant you can find. When developing this recipe, I used a Cosori air fryer (the one with a large basket). There are many varieties of air fryers on the market, each with slightly different heating mechanisms. Use the cooking times below as a guideline–you may need to increase or decrease the cooking times by a minute or two.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time30 minutes mins

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup (118mL) water
• 1/4 teas، cornstarch
• 4 to 5 tables،s extra-، olive oil, divided
• 2 tables،s minced garlic
• 1 tables، soy sauce
• 2 teas،s sugar
• 1 tables، gochugaru (Korean pepper flakes), (see note 1)
• 1 1/2 tables،s white miso, (see note 2)
• 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 pounds (567g to 680g) Chinese or Japanese eggplant
• sea salt or kosher salt
• toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
• sliced scallions or c،es, for garnish

Instructions

Make Sauce

• Stir the water and cornstarch in a bowl and set aside.

• In a saucepan over medium heat, add 1 tables، of olive oil. Add the minced garlic and cook for 30 seconds to a minute, stirring frequently. Give the cornstarch and water a quick stir a،n, in case the cornstarch settles to the bottom of the bowl. Carefully pour the water into the saucepan. Next, add the soy sauce, sugar, and gochugaru. Once the liquid reaches a boil, reduce the heat slightly and let it simmer for another 2 to 3 minutes.

• Turn off the heat and add the miso paste to the saucepan. Whisk the paste into the sauce. It usually takes me about a minute to fully incorporate the miso. Set the sauce aside.

Air Fry Eggplant

• Preheat the air fryer to 400ºF (205ºC). Working in batches, add the eggplant slices to the basket of your air fryer in a single layer. Try not to overlap the eggplant slices. Cook for 4 minutes. Flip the eggplant over and cook for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the eggplant looks softened and slightly browned. Transfer the cooked eggplant to a plate and continue air frying the remaining eggplant.

Finish Dish

• Using a s،, spread miso sauce over all the eggplant slices. Garnish with sesame seeds and scallions. Serve the eggplant with jasmine rice or egg fried rice. You’ll likely have leftover miso sauce. Drizzle it over the rice! For some protein on the side, I like serving the eggplant with a fried egg or teriyaki tofu.

Notes

1. Subs،uting Gochugaru: If gochugaru is difficult to find, you can use 2 teas،s of paprika instead. The flavor profile will be a little different, but it’ll definitely enhance the flavor of the sauce.
2. White Miso Alternatives: If you can only find red miso or some other variety of miso, I recommend tasting the miso first. If the paste has a pretty strong funky fermented flavor, add 1 tables، of the miso to the sauce first. Then, taste the sauce and add more if needed.
3. Make Ahead Tips: You can air fry the eggplant and prepare the sauce a few days ahead. Refrigerate the cooked eggplant and sauce separately. Heat the eggplant on a s،et and the sauce in a saucepan for several minutes, until heated through.

Nutrition

Serving: 4slices of eggplant | Calories: 192kcal | Carbohydrates: 15.2g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 14.9g | Saturated Fat: 2.1g | Sodium: 284mg | Fiber: 5.4g | Sugar: 7.5g

Did you make this recipe?Tag @،olisalin or leave a star rating and comment on the blog!