Chinese Aubergine Stuffed Fritters

If like me you are a big fan of aubergine tempura you will love this dish, as the stuffing puts another dimension to them. This isn't a vegetarian recipe but you could easily adjust the recipe by taking out the dried prawn and pork mince and replacing them with finely chopped chestnuts, tofu and shitake mushrooms or another vegetable.

4-6 Portions

Preparation Time: 20 minutes
Cooking Time; 10 minutes

Aubergines:

• 500-600g aubergines
• 1 tsp. salt

To Deep Fry:

• 100g rice flour
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 200g potato or corn flour
• 1 tsp. five spice
• pinch salt and white pepper
• oil for deep frying

Stuffing:

• 1 garlic clove, finely chopped
• 2 tsp. ginger, finely chopped
• 2 tsp. five spice
• 1 tbsp. dried shrimps, soaked in boiling water (or vegetarian option use chopped chestnuts)
• 200g minced pork (or vegetarian option use tofu and shitake mushrooms)
• 1 spring onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbps soy sauce
• 1 tsp. shaoshing wine or dry sherry
• 1 tsp. caster sugar
• pinch salt and white pepper

Method:
Aubergines: Slice the aubergines width wise into slices around 2cm thick. Make an incision in the half way down the side of the slices and cut so as to create a pouch for the stuffing so as not to break through the flesh. Lay them on a tray and sprinkle them with salt, to remove some of the bitter juices. Set the slices aside while you prepared the stuffing.

Stuffing: Place the stuffing in a blender and process it until you have a smooth mixture or finely chop all the ingredients and combine them together in a bowl until well combined.

To Fill Aubergines: Pat dry the aubergine slice with paper toweling. Take teaspoonful of the stuffing and carefully fill the pouches with the stuffing (try not to break the flesh and don't overfill them).

To Cook: Heat oil in a wok or deep fryer to 180-190ÌC. Combine the potato or corn flour, five spice and salt and pepper in a bowl. Place the egg yolks in a separate bowl and the rice flour in a third bowl. Toss the aubergine slices in the rice flour then coat them in the egg and finely cover them well in the flour. Deep fry a few slices at a time in the preheated oil for 2-3 minutes turning them over halfway through cooking, until they are crisp and golden brown. Remove the aubergine from the oil and keep them warm while you cook the remaining
slices.

To Serve: Distribute the slices among 4-6 plates and serve them with a small bowl of soy sauce on it own or with 50% soy sauce and 50% red wine vinegar combined.

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