Deep fried Chinese stuffed eggplant and lotus roots.

This is a popular deep-fried food across the country especially for holidays. When I was young, I love the deep-fried dishes including this Chinese stuffed eggplants, Chinese stuffed lotus root and Sichuan deep-fried pork. Children love those not only because they are delicious and also because they are easy to carry so they can eat them as snack when playing.

We have a lovely name for food like this "box" . They are crispy outside and a savory inside part. I made two versions here, one with eggplants and the other with lotus root. They can be served directly or with dipping sauce. You can also further cook the fried box with savory sauces like Yu Xiang sauce, oyster sauce and Kung pao sauce.

Cook's Note

1.A key ingredients for crispy enough shell is beer. I use only egg and beer to make the coating.
2. Fry the boxes twice. The first frying is to make sure they are well cooked and the second frying creates a more crisper shell and remove extra oil absorbed in the first frying.

Instructions

Clean the eggplants, remove the two ends. Then cut a ¾ of the eggplants and don't cut through. Then make another cut so the two slices are still attached to each other. If you use lotus root, remember to remove the skin.

Add minced pork in center to make a sandwich.

All the boxes ready!

Make a batter with flour, beer, salt and pepper and eggs. The batter should be similar with yogurt. Place all of the sandwiches in and coat well. Add the beer by batches and watch the texture of the coating.

Heat oil in a small pot. Test the oil temperature. Place a small drop of batter in oil and make sure it floats immediately.

Place the boxes in and fry until slightly browned. Transfer out and wait for all of the batch finished.

Remove the slags and then re-heat the oil for 2-3 minutes. Place the fried boxes in. Continue frying for 15 to 20 seconds. It helps to remove the extra oil, make the out shell even crisper and also a more lovely color.

Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top and serve hot. The crisp shell softened after cooled. So serve it immediately.