My continued eggplant obsession

This week we got two large eggplants. One went into the air fryer and the other into the frying pan.

I think that egplants need humidity to soften and cook. I now wonder how to reliably make good air-fried eggplants. Should I soak the eggplant in marinade?

Air-fried eggplant

Last week the air fryer had made very dry eggplant chips (with chewy skin). This time I cut it into larger 1" cubes.

I air fried the cubes at 350F for 36 minutes, and they unfortunately burned. They may look delicious, but they tasted burnt.

Pan-fried eggplant

This was a recipe with soy sauce, sesame oil, honey, and cayenne pepper flakes. The sauce was only added at the end, after the eggplant had cooked on medium-high for 15 minutes.

I think the extra humidity here is what helped the eggplant to cook better.