Are you an eggplant lover? If you are you’ve come to the right page. This recipe is from mum and you know mum’s recipes are the best. This simple stuffed eggplant recipe brings you the taste of Asia/Cambodia it’s so good and very appealing. The traditional way of cooking eggplant in this dish is by deep frying it, but we know that deep frying is very unhealthy and a lot of oil is required. Deep frying eggplant can also be hazardous because eggplant contains a lot of liquid and when it is shallow/deep fried in a lot of oil it will spit including the gigantic spit (a foot out of the pot)(very messy and not fun at all). Plus why deep fry the eggplant when you have an oven at home. The stuffing is made from very basic ingredients, the main ingredient is pork mince seasoned with simple seasoning salt, sugar, stock powder and fish sauce.
From my observations, Cambodians don’t use much shallots in their cooking, only a few dishes include shallots and this recipe is one and is a must. The shallots and garlic help to enhance the favour and fragrance of the dish therefore without them it will taste different.
Note: use which ever eggplant is available in your local market. This time I managed to find the type of eggplant that is traditionally used in Cambodia but when they aren’t around I often use black beauty eggplant. They are big so I recommend finding smaller sized eggplants as they take lesser time to cook and taste better.
You are welcome to grill the eggplant in aluminium foil on the grill or cook them in the oven the way I do it.
STUFFED EGGPLANTS
Prep-Time: 15 mins Serve: 4
Cooking Time: 45 mins
Ingredients
3 medium sized eggplant, long thin ones preferred
250g pork mince
3 spring onion, chopped
2 shallot, sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp stock powder
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tbsp fish sauce
1 egg
4 tbsp oil
Method
Preheat oven at 200°C Fan Force
Make a cut 3/4 the length of the eggplants, pour the oil into the cut and then rub the outside of the eggplants with extra oil. Wrap each eggplant in aluminium foil and place on to a baking tray. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes or until the eggplants have softened and are cooked through.
Making the stuffing: heat oil in a wok over medium high heat, add in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until golden brown. Toss in the pork mince and all of the seasoning, stir to separate into pieces. Continuously stir the mince for 3-5 minutes or until the excess liquid reduces.
Toss in the shallots and half of the spring onion and then cook for 2 minutes. Crack the egg into the mixture and stir occasionally until evenly distributed. Continue to cook until no more excess liquid remains, remove from the heat.
Transfer the cooked mince and stuff it into the cut you made on the eggplants. Sprinkle with the rest of the spring onion on top and serve.
