Challenge #73 - Japanese Eggplant with Garlic Ginger Teriyaki Sauce

A couple of years ago I had this ridiculously delicious dish at a Japanese restaurant.  It must have been amazing since I remember having so long ago.  Anyway it was baked eggplant in a garlic teriyaki sauce.  Although the flavors were fabulous, the eggplant was drowning a bit in too much sauce for my personal taste.  So I recreated a similar version adding ginger and scallions and making it a much lighter glaze.  When I made this the other night, I made half the amount of sauce indicated.  I was ok with the amount, but my husband would have liked more or at least some on the side for extra dipping.  My recommendation is to make the amount of sauce below, use half or a little more to start.  Add the rest half way through cooking or reserve to use as dipping sauce on the side.  Also, if you want a thicker sauce, feel free to add more maple syrup.  I try to keep the amount of sugar I have as low as possible, so I used only a small amount.
My husband and I both tried this  before it went on the eggplant as I was tweaking the quantities as I went (all reflected below).  He loved the flavor and thought it would be great on chicken.  I am a vegetarian, but he is not.  So if you do eat meat or poultry, perhaps give this sauce a try on it.

Ingredients:
2 Japanese eggplants (or 4 small eggplants) 
4-6 scallions
1/4 cup nama shoyu (raw soy sauce, or you can use regular)
2 tbsp maple syrup (pure)
3-4 gloves garlic
2 tbsp Mirin (rice wine, this does have some sugar so small amount here)
1/2" - 1" ginger

Step #1 - Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Add nama shoyu, mirin, and maple syrup to small bowl.  Zest both ginger and garlic into the bowl.  Stir well. Feel free to adjust ginger and garlic depending on your preference (add some, taste, then add more if desired).  I like a lot of garlic. 

Step # 2 -  Cut up Japanese eggplant into similar sized rounds and quarters.  Pour sauce over (I recommend starting with half and using the rest later or for dipping, but it's a matter of preference) and mix well. Add 2 diced scallions. Bake in parchment lines dish for about 40-50 mins or until eggplant is tender.

 Step #3 - Remove from oven.  Place in serving dish and add additional dices scallions. Oh and I am also a big fan of scallions, so feel free to use less if desired.  Enjoy!  I had a beautiful salad with carrot miso ginger dressing along side the eggplant.  As you can see from the picture, the eggplant soaks up a lot of the sauce, perfect for me, maybe not enough for others.