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Braised eggplant rolls

Fiona Smith

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Braised eggplant rolls
Braised eggplant rollsSupplied

Bao Luo restaurant in the French Concession in Shanghai serves an oily but delicious version of these rolls, adding pork to the eggplant. I have made a vegetarian version. These are served like Peking duck, with the same pancakes. Diners fill their own at the table, or you can make them up and pass them around - they make great cocktail food. The pancakes are rolled and cooked double then split so they can be made thinner. If you can't eat oyster sauce, replace it with hoisin.

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Ingredients

  • Title:For the pancakes

  • 250g flour

  • 250ml boiling water

  • 1/2 cup sesame seeds

  • 2 tablespoons sesame oil

  • Title:For the eggplant

  • 4-5 narrow Japanese eggplants or 1 medium eggplant

  • 2 tablespoons peanut oil

  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed

  • 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce

  • 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce for vegetarians (or oyster sauce for those who can eat seafood)

  • 1 tablespoon Shaoxing cooking wine or brandy

  • 2 teaspoons grated ginger

  • 1 teaspoon sugar

  • 1/2 cucumber, seeded and cut into matchsticks

  • 4 spring onions, finely sliced lengthwise

Method

  1. For the pancakes 

    Sift the flour into a bowl then gradually add the water, mixing until you get a smooth dough. Turn the dough on to a lightly floured surface and knead for 3 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 30 minutes.

    Spread the sesame seeds on a dinner plate. Working on a floured surface, divide the dough into 18 pieces and roll into balls. Roll 2 balls out a little and brush 1 with sesame oil. Top with the other flattened ball then press both sides into the sesame seeds. Roll the double pancake out to a 15cm-diameter circle. Repeat with

    the remaining dough.

    Heat a frying pan over a medium heat. Cook the pancakes, 1 at a time, for 1-2 minutes each side until firm and just starting to colour. Separate the 2 pancakes immediately, stack on a plate, and cover tightly with tinfoil. Keep in a warm oven if using immediately or refrigerate until needed and reheat in a steamer for

    a few minutes.

    For the eggplant

    Cut the eggplant lengthwise into 1.5cm slices then cut these into 1.5cm-wide sticks. Cut these into 6cm lengths.

    Heat the oil in a wok over a medium heat, add the eggplant and garlic, and stir to coat in the oil. Lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until browned. Add the soy sauce, oyster sauce, Shaoxing or brandy, ginger and sugar.

    Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish.

    To serve 

    Serve with the warm pancakes and dishes of cucumber and spring onion.

    You can also find hundreds of recipes from Cuisine, the World's Best Food Magazine, on www.cuisine.co.nz 

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