In case you missed it, we recently visited LA-based chef, Wendy Zeng for our new food-centric editorial series, Family Dinner with LANG. As we hung out at her East LA home – where she also hosts events for AAPI food, culture, and cannabis collective, Mogu Magu – Wendy prepared a delicious “Crispy Stuffed Eggplants” dish, inspired by her grandfather’s family recipe.
Created around classic Sichuan flavors, Wendy’s update on the classic dish is a masterful play on simple ingredients and bold flavors. The chef creates a twist on the original batter by utilizing xanthan gum in this variation, which yields a beautifully light batter that perfectly complements the eggplant and minced pork. To top off the already sublime dish, the zingy sauce for this recipe packs a punch with a balanced combination of sweet, salty, sour and spicy flavors. Make sure to save this recipe for your next dinner party to dazzle your guests.
Read on to find out how you can prepare this dish yourself and read our full interview with Wendy here.
Sauce:
1 ½ cups sugar
¼ cup liquid glucose
½ cup light soy sauce
⅓ cup chinese red vinegar
⅓ cup soy paste
2½ tbsp Chinkiang black vinegar
2 tbsp Doubanjang
2 tbsp chilli sauce
1 tbsp grated ginger
2 tbsp grated garlic
3 birdseye chillies, very finely chopped
2 tsp ground Sichuan pepper
½ tsp chilli flakes
Stuffed Eggplants:
2 large Chinese eggplants or 4 Japanese eggplants
½ lb ground kurobuta pork
½ tbsp finely ground ginger
½ tbsp finely minced scallion
½ teaspoon white pepper
2 tbsp hot water
1 tsp Cornstarch
Batter:
1 ½ tbsp xanthan gum
½ cup rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour
2 ⅓ cups water
Topping:
Sesame seeds
Chopped Cilantro + diced scallions
Diced red chili like fresno, or bird’s eye if you’re brave
METHOD
1. Melt sugar in glucose + 1 cup of water. Cook until caramelized. Combine all sauce ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil then simmer to reduce until thick (~40mins) and coats the back of a spoon.
2. Slice eggplants ½ inch thick and soak in salty water (like briney pasta water) for 30 mins. Drain and pat dry with a paper towel.
3. Combine hot water with minced ginger + scallions. Let it sit for a few minutes then mix with the remaining stuffing ingredients. Mix well but do not overmix.
4. Scoop ~ 1 tbsp of pork mixture and sandwich between 2 slices of eggplants. Continue to do this until you are out of eggplants/meat mixture.
5. Blitz all batter ingredients together using a hand blender until it’s a goopy yogurt-like texture. Do not add salt as the sauce is already salty enough.
6. Coat eggplant pies in batter and fry at 350-375 degrees until golden and crispy. Drain on a wire rack over a sheet pan.
7. Toss fried eggplants with sauce. Only use enough sauce to cover the eggplants and reserve the rest. The sauce recipe makes a big batch that you can freeze and take out to use everytime you want to make this dish or to use as a general stir fry sauce.
8. Plate and garnish with herbs and chiles.
Creative Credits
Photographer: Daniel Nguyen