Rolled into delectable cylinders, dipped in a light tempura batter and fried to a golden crisp, this quick-to-prepare, appetizing dish pairs perfectly with your favourite dipping sauce, sweet and sour and sweet chilli works really well with this recipe. Savour the crispy goodnes and make Crispy Aubergine Pork Rolls for your friends and family.
Crispy Aubergine Pork Rolls Recipe
Serves 2–4
Preparation time: 12 minutes, plus 20 minutes resting
Cooking time: 7 minutes
Ingredients:
Vegetable oil, for frying
Dipping sauce, to serve
For the filling
2 Japanese aubergines (eggplants)
220g (8oz) minced (ground) pork
3 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
1 tbsp minced garlic
1 tbsp minced ginger
1 tbsp oyster sauce
½ tbsp Chinese rice wine (Shaoxing wine)
Pinch of salt
Pinch of white pepper
½ tbsp cornflour (cornstarch)
For the batter
125g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
30g (¼ cup) cornflour (cornstarch)
2 egg yolks
400ml (1¾ cups) iced water
Method:
Place all the filling ingredients in a bowl, except the aubergines, and mix well until the mixture becomes quite sticky. Cover with cling film (plastic wrap) and place in the fridge to rest.
In another bowl, mix the dry batter ingredients together. Whisk the egg yolks and then combine with the flour mixture and the iced water. Be careful not to overmix, so don’t worry about any lumps in the mixture. Place the batter in the fridge while you assemble the rolls.
Using a vegetable peeler, cut long, thin strips of aubergine. Cover each aubergine strip in a thin layer of the pork mixture, then roll into a cylinder. Once all the pork mixture and aubergine strips have been used, heat about 7.5cm (3in) oil to 185°C (365°F) in a deep-sided pan.
Now dunk your aubergine rolls into the batter and carefully lower into the hot oil. Fry for 3–5 minutes, depending on how thick your rolls are, until golden brown and crispy. Once cooked, drain and serve with your favourite dipping sauce. Sweet and sour and sweet chilli works really well with this recipe.
This is an edited extract from Chinese Made Easy by Kwoklyn Wan, AU$45 / NZ$50, published by Quadrille. In stores nationally, photography by Sam Folan.
