Restaurant Recipes
Bo Lings Stuffed Eggplant
in Black Bean Sauce
Yield: 3 to 4 servings
Ingredients
- 3/4 pound Chinese purple eggplant
- 1 pound medium shrimp, cleaned and shelled
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Pinch white pepper
- Approximately 2 cups vegetable oil, divided
- 1 tablespoon Chinese fermented black bean, rinsed and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons fresh minced ginger
- 2 cups water, divided
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 tablespoons soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon white cooking wine
- 1 tablespoon sesame seed oil
- 3 tablespoons cornstarch
Instructions
- Rinse eggplant and dry. Diagonally slice the eggplant into 1 1/2 inch thick slices. (This will create diagonally sliced, round discs.) With the tip of a knife, slice a pocket into each piece, slicing parallel to the surface and slicing only about 3/4 of the way through each slice. Each eggplant disc now has an opening for the shrimp stuffing.
- Chop shrimp into pieces about the size of corn kernels. Place shrimp in a bowl and season with salt and pepper; mix until shrimp becomes sticky, about 4 minutes.
- Using a table knife, stuff about 1 to 2 teaspoons shrimp mixture into the pocket in each eggplant slice. Dip knife into cold water between stuffing to smooth shrimp filling. (This step could take 15 to 20 minutes.)
- Pour 1 cup oil into a large skillet and heat over medium-high heat. Pan-fry stuffed eggplant until brown on both sides. (Eggplant absorbs oil like a sponge; add additional oil if pan becomes dry or eggplant will not brown.) When brown, remove from pan and set aside to drain.
- Pour 1 tablespoon oil into a hot wok. Add black bean, garlic and ginger; stir-fry until ingredients become a light brown. Add 1 1/2 cups water, sugar, soy sauce and wine. Stir together cornstarch with 1/2 cup water, mixing until well-dissolved. Slowly pour cornstarch mixture into wok, stirring constantly. Cook, stirring, until mixture has the consistency of syrup. Stir in sesame seed oil, then remove from heat.
- Dip each eggplant piece in sauce to coat well, then place each piece on a small, heatproof plate. Place plate in steamer and steam over boiling water for 12 to 15 minutes.
- Serve warm.
Nutrition
Per serving, based on 3: 933 calories (77 percent from fat), 80 grams total fat (10 grams saturated), 230 milligrams cholesterol, 21 grams carbohydrates, 33 grams protein, 1,270 milligrams sodium, 3 grams dietary fiber
Attribution
Richard Ng, owner/chef, Bo Lings, Kansas City, Missouri