Yu Xiang Eggplant Cakes
Eggplant slices stuffed with seasoned pork filling are deep-fried until golden and crisp, then finished with a fish-fragrant sauce made from pickled red chili peppers.
Ingredients
Eggplant (fresh, peeled)
400 g
Ground pork (fat and lean, minced)
150 g
Egg white batter (egg white and cornstarch in 2:1 ratio)
150 g
Pickled red chili (minced)
50 g
Minced ginger
12 g
Minced garlic
12 g
Chopped scallion
25 g
Soy sauce
30 g
Cooking wine
40 g
Sugar
15 g
Vinegar
25 g
Salt
15 g
Cornstarch slurry
40 g
Stock
150 g
MSG
1 g
Sesame oil
15 g
Cooked vegetable oil
1000 g
Instructions
1
Preparation
Peel the fresh eggplant and cut into 24 slices, each about 0.8 cm thick with two cuts and one break. Mince the pork and place in a bowl. Add 5 g soy sauce, salt, 10 g cooking wine, 15 g cornstarch slurry, and 25 g water. Stir well to make the meat filling. Stuff each eggplant slice to make eggplant cakes. Mince the pickled red chili. Combine 25 g soy sauce, 30 g cooking wine, MSG, sugar, vinegar, 25 g cornstarch slurry, and stock to make the sauce.
2
Frying
Place a wok over high heat. When the oil reaches 180°C, reduce to low heat. Coat each eggplant cake with a layer of egg white batter and fry until golden yellow. Remove. When the oil reaches 220°C, refry all eggplant cakes for one minute until the skin is crispy and the filling is cooked, golden in color. Remove and arrange on a plate.
3
Sauce
Leave 75 g of oil in the wok. Add ginger, garlic, and pickled red chili. Stir-fry until the oil turns red and fragrant. Pour in the sauce, add chopped scallion, drizzle with sesame oil, and pour over the eggplant cakes. Serve.
