Tonight's dinner stars a golden, creamy burger with definite Japanese izakaya vibes. But this two-handed munch is indulgence without too much guilt. We pile the bun up with slaw and an eggplant patty and serve it with oven-baked fries to get your burger night hitting just right. Whether you choose to serve with a frosty Japanese beer is entirely up to you.
Preheat oven to 210°C fan-forced. Slice potatoes into 2cm-thick batons. Place on a lined baking tray and drizzle with vegetable oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss to coat.
Finely grate ginger. Place miso, mirin, ½ the sesame oil and ginger in a large bowl. Slice eggplant into 3cm-thick rounds, add to marinade and toss to coat well.
Place eggplant on a lined baking tray and spoon over any excess marinade. Transfer eggplant and chips to oven and cook for 20–25 minutes or until golden and cooked through. While eggplant is cooking, continue with step 4.
Place aioli, remaining sesame oil and rice wine vinegar in a bowl big enough to fit the slaw and whisk to combine.
Thinly slice spring onion and cabbage. Add to bowl with dressing, season with salt and pepper and toss to combine.
In the final 2 minutes of cooking the eggplant, add buns to oven and toast. Thickly slice tomato and season with salt. Top bun bases with slaw, miso eggplant and tomato and sandwich with bun tops. Serve with fries.