
Sticky tempura eggplant
Eggplant can be hit or miss for some people, but I assure you this will change the mind of an eggplant hater. The sauce clings onto the light batter, giving each bite a nice chew and crisp.
A piece of advice: make sure your batter is cold right before it hits the hot oil.
Cold batter + hot oil = more bubbles
Ingredients:
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Eggplant
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Cornstarch
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Flour
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Cold water
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Ice
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Frying oil
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Spring onions to garnish
Sauce:
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Honey-
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Soy sauce-
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Hot sauce- use your favourite-
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Garlic, minced-
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Ginger, minced-
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Ketchup-
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Sesame oil-
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Lime juice or another kind of acid-
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Chinese Five Spice
Method:
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Begin by making the sauce: mix all the ingredients in a bowl and adjust to your tastes. Set aside until later.
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Chop your eggplant into cubes or batons.
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Toss the eggplant in cornflour until coated.
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Combine the cold water and flour until they reach a loose batter. If it’s too thick, add more water. If it’s too thin, more flour. Either way, you’ll have a batter. Add ice to keep the batter cold.
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Prepare a wire rack or paper towel-lined baking tray.
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Heat a pot with enough oil for deep frying.
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While the oil heats up, add the eggplant to the tempura batter. You can also begin to slowly heat the sauce in another pan until it thickens slightly.
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Add the battered eggplant to the oil and fry until golden brown. Remove to the prepared rack/tray. If you are working in small batches, keep the fried pieces in a warm oven.
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Toss the eggplant in the sauce until each piece is coated.
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Garnish with spring onion and serve while hot.