Chinese Stuffed Eggplant

5 from 1 vote

Stuffed eggplant is a flavorful dish where tender eggplant slices are filled with a savory mixture of pork and shrimp is pan-fried until golden. You need to try this Hakka or dim sum favorite dish!

Prep Time30

Cook Time15

Total Time45

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Chinese

Calories: 623kcal

Author: Dana Rao

Ingredients

4 Chinese eggplants half peeled and cut in 1 inch pieces
1 tablespoon corn starch for frying
2 tablespoon neutral oil for frying
5-8 garlic cloves minced

filling

1 pound ground pork
10-14 shrimp de-veined and peeled
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon corn starch
3 tablespoon water
¼ teaspoon white pepper
1 green onion liced
5-7 sprigs cilantro optional
1 egg

Instructions

Cut off the stems of Chinese eggplant. Peel half of the skin of the eggplant (in stripes).
Slice diagonally in 1 inch pieces.
To make the filling, mince the shrimp until it forms a paste.
Then, place minced shrimp in a bowl with ground pork, green onions (optional) soy sauce, salt, ginger, 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.
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.
Smear 1 tablespoon of filling on the cornstarch side of the eggplant. Add some more cornstarch on top of the filling to make it crispy.
Heat pan to medium heat. Once the pan is hot, add 1 tablespoon oil. Add stuffed eggplant meat side down and gently press. Be careful, oil may splatter. Fry eggplant for 4 minutes with a cover.
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. Add some chopped garlic to the oil. Fry for one more minute. Enjoy with some hot rice!

Video

@cookwithdana
Reply to @...uwq stuffed eggplant is one of my favorite Hakka recipes 😊 #chinesefood
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Notes

Expert Tips

Use Chinese eggplants for a sweeter taste. The western eggplants is wider and they can taste more bitter.

Peeling half the skin and keeping some helps retain the structure of the eggplant. The skin can make the eggplant hard but a little bit gives it the perfect structure.

Use cornstarch prior to the filling to ensure the pork and shrimp adheres to the eggplant. If you don't use it, the eggplant and filling may separate during the pan frying step.

Nutrition