Chinese Stuffed Eggplant (Hakka)

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We’re making one of the most famous hakka foods – Chinese stuffed eggplant. The filling is bouncy from the shrimp paste and its crispy when shallow fried! The soft eggplant goes so well with the dried shrimp and cilantro. This recipe is very similar to the stuffed jalapenos but with a little more complexity. It is the dried shrimp that gives the filling a nice umami flavor!

You know that I love eating these stuffed eggplants with hot white rice. Don’t miss out on this delicious and traditional chinese eggplant recipe ◡̈

INGREDIENTS YOU NEED FOR YOUR STUFFED EGGPLANT:

• Chinese eggplants
• corn starch
• avocado oil (to fry)
• garlic cloves

Filling:

• ground pork
• large shrimp
• dried shrimp
• soy sauce
• salt
• chicken bouillon
• olive oil
• corn starch
• white pepper
• green onions
• cilantro
• egg

STEPS TO MAKE THE STUFFED EGGPLANT:

1. Cut off the stems of Chinese eggplant. Peel half of the skin of the eggplant (in stripes). Slice diagonally in 1 inch pieces.
2. (optional) Soak the dried shrimp for 1-15 minutes until softened. The dried shrimp is usually found in asian grocery stores next to the chinese sausage. Roughly mince the dried shrimp.
3. Mince the shrimp until it forms a paste.
4. Chop green onions and cilantro and set aside.
5. To make the filling, mix ground pork, soy sauce, salt, chicken bouillon, olive oil, and corn starch, white pepper, and egg. Mix in one direction for 50+ times until the filling is gelatinous and sticks together.
6. Then mix in shrimp paste, chopped dried shrimp, green onions and cilantro.
7. Add corn starch on a plate. Take one piece of eggplant and press one side of the eggplant with cornstarch. This helps the eggplant stick to the filling when cooking and eating. If you skip this step, the filling and the eggplant might fall apart during cooking.
8. Smear 1 tbs of filling on the cornstarch side of the eggplant.
9. Heat pan to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add 2-3 tbs oil. Add stuffed eggplant meat side down and gently press. Be careful, oil may splatter. Note: You may need to fry the stuffed eggplant in a few batches. Overcrowding them will make them not as crispy.
10. Fry eggplant for 4 minutes with a cover.
11. Then, turn down heat to low-medium. Flip the eggplant over (feel free to add a few tbs of oil to ensure the eggplant doesn’t stick!) and cook the eggplant for 3-4 minutes until it softens.
12. Add some chopped garlic to the oil. Fry for one more minute. Enjoy with some hot rice!

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Looking for more Hakka recipes? Try these out below!

• One of my favorite stuffed recipes is this Stuffed Jalapeno from my grandma! Its spicy & flavorful!
• If you’re looking for something soft and silky, you need to try this shrimp stuffed tofu recipe!

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