Although eggplants are available throughout the year in most parts of the United States, they’re particularly good toward the end of the summer, when the hot sun seems to ripen them most gently. The pungent bean sauce in this recipe makes a nice contrast to the subtle sweetness of the flesh.

Versions of this classic dish appear on most Japanese restaurant menus in America, where they’re often listed as nasu no shigi yaki. Nasu is eggplant, but shigi is the name of a lo