Sweet sour eggplants
Peeled eggplants are cubed, coated in batter, deep fried then braised in sweet sour sauce that thickens naturally as it reduces.
Servings 4 people
Ingredients
- 3 eggplants (Asian variety, please!)
- 1 medium egg
- 1 teaspoon salt
- pepper
- 6 tablespoons potato starch (you may need more if your eggplants are extra large)
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 3 to 4 cups cooking oil
Sweet sour sauce
- ¼ cup rice vinegar
- ⅓ cup white sugar
- 2 tablespoons ketchup
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons chopped garlic
Instructions
- Peel the eggplants and cut into bite-sized cubes.
- Place the cubed eggplants in a miing bowl and add the egg, salt, pepper, potato starch and baking powder. Toss until the eggplant cubes are coated in a slightly wet batter.
- Heat the cooking oil until fine wisps of smoke flat on the surface.
- Slide the battered eggplant cubes into the hot oil. Stir after 10 to 15 seconds to separate the pieces. Fry, stirring occasionally, until the batter turns crisp.
- While the eggplants fry, mix together the ingredients for the sauce and heat in another frying pan until boiling gently.
- Scoop out the eggplants and dump into the sauce. Toss to coat each piece with sauce. Leave to braise over medium-low heat, tossing occasionally, until the sauce has reduced and thickened.
- Serve the sweet sour eggplants immediately.
