Chinese-Style Eggplant with Meat

Ingredients

1 eggplant

300 g minced meat

1 bunch green onions

1 tsp sesame seeds

1 tbsp sesame oil

1 tbsp soy sauce

Salt to taste

Ground black pepper to taste

1 egg

100 ml water

Vegetable oil

100 g flour



First, cut the eggplant. To do this, place it between two boards of equal thickness (you can use chopsticks). Slice the eggplant into thin slices no more than 5 mm thick. The boards will prevent the knife from cutting all the way through.



The end result should look like this: an eggplant accordion.

 

Now cut the eggplant into pockets, cutting all the way through every other slice. Don't throw away the narrow parts; they'll be used for the stuffing.



It should look like this. Place the pockets on a flat plate and sprinkle with salt. Let them sit until droplets of juice appear to remove any excess bitterness. Meanwhile, let's make the stuffing. Finely chop the remaining eggplant (the narrow parts). Finely chop the green onion. Place the stuffing, onion, and chopped eggplant in a bowl. Add a spoonful of soy sauce. Also add a spoonful of sesame oil and a teaspoon of sesame seeds. Season the stuffing to taste and mix well.



The eggplants have salted and released their juices. Rinse them with cold water and pat dry with a towel to remove excess moisture. Place 1 tablespoon of filling in the center of each pocket.

Spread the filling evenly across the pocket. The eggplant and filling should be roughly the same thickness.

For the batter, beat 1 egg, add salt, water, and flour, and mix everything together. The batter should be slightly thinner than pancake batter. Dip each eggplant in the batter and fry in vegetable oil for 3-4 minutes on each side.

There should be plenty of oil. Place the cooked eggplants on a paper towel to remove excess oil.

Serve the eggplants hot. Dip them in soy sauce and enjoy.

Enjoy!