Japanese Dengaku

Put all the ingredients in a small saucepan and stir with a wooden spatula over a medium flame. When the mixture begins to boil, reduce the heat and continue stirring until smooth and thick (around 20 minutes). Let cool and then it's ready to use. Sweet simmered miso can be refrigerated for up to a month.

You can grill many different foods when making dengaku, try grilling mushrooms, leeks, daikon, mochi, green peppers, konnyaku, or tofu.  Here are two variations:

(Broiled Sweet Potato). Take 1 sweet potato, cut lengthwise, peel and steam (or use a microwave) until just tender, let cool. Now place the slices on aluminum foil under an oven broiler and broil on each side until lightly speckled, spread one side with a thin layer of dengaku miso and grill again until the miso bubbles. Serve hot or cold.

(Broiled Eggplant). Take four Japanese eggplants and split them lengthwise. Broil the eggplants on each side in an oven broiler until the eggplant is nearly cooked through (you can brush on a little bit of sesame oil to keep the eggplant from drying out, this also imparts a nice flavor). Spread dengaku miso on the cut surface side and grill again until the miso bubbles. Serve hot or cold.