I had some leftover eggplant and okra that needed to be used up but not quite enough for a stir-fry, so I decided to experiment with deep-frying them Japanese-style using a tempura batter. I did a quick Google search during my Live Asian Kitchen broadcast, and went with one that looked legit, ie. the recipe found at go-japanese.com. I was pretty impressed with how light and crispy they turned out, so I’m sharing it here with my tweaks

Tempura-Style Deep-Fried Vegetables

INGREDIENTS:

Sliced vegetables – eg. eggplant, sweet potato, okra, capsicum, etc.

1 cup plain flour

2 TBSP potato starch or similar (tapioca or cornstarch)

200ml cold water

1 egg

½ tsp pepper

1 tsp chicken powder (or ½ tsp salt if vegetarian)

Oil for deep-frying

METHOD:

1. Blitz plain flour, potato starch, pepper and chicken powder in a food processor to combine, or alternatively, sift them together.
2. In a large bowl, beat egg, then mix with cold water.
3. Add ⅓ of the flour mixture into the egg/water bowl and lightly stir in one direction using a pair of chopsticks or fork.
4. Repeat with the next ⅓ and finally with the remaining flour. Do not over-stir; some lumps in the batter is fine.
5. Heat oil to 160-170’C.
6. Dip vegetables in batter, then in oil. Fry until done; about 2 minutes.
7. Remove and drain on paper towels before serving.

The post How to Make Japanese-Style Deep-Fried Vegetables (Tempura) first appeared on Jackie M..

Lately, my local greengrocer has been stocking the variety of eggplant that I grew up eating back in Malaysia (correct me if I’m wrong, but I often see them referred to here as Japanese eggplants), and it prompted me to get some for one of my favourite Indonesian Padang dishes known as Terung (Eggplant) Balado.

I air-fried the eggplants in my Optimum HealthyFry during my Live Asian Kitchen broadcast so as to free up my stove for the balado sauce, but you could just as easily pan-fry them with some oil or grill them in the oven.

Also, I used chicken powder in the sauce, but substitute that with half the amount in salt and just like that, you have yourself a vegan dish.

Terung (Eggplant) Balado

INGREDIENTS:

1kg long eggplants, halved
4 tomatoes
1 large onion
6-8 garlic cloves
¼ cup chilli paste (or sambal oelek)
1 TBSP chicken powder (or 2 tsps salt)
1 TBSP sugar
½ cup water
2 tsps lemon juice (optional)
⅓ cup oil

METHOD:

1. Brush eggplant halves with oil, then grill/airfry or pan-fry them until soft. Set aside.
2. Dice tomatoes; mince onion and garlic.
3. Combine onion, garlic and chilli paste in a wok or pan and fry until the moisture is reduced.
4. Add oil and fry until onion is caramelised.
5. Add tomatoes and cook for another minute, followed by all other ingredients.
6. Simmer until mixture is reduced by half, remove from heat and spread on eggplant to serve.

The Optimum HealthyFry air fryer is from Prestige Home Appliances; you can find out more about it in this link –

The post How to Cook Indonesian Padang-Style Eggplant Balado first appeared on Jackie M..

Furthermore, while the original moussaka recipe relayed to me by Jana was hardly what you would consider high-carb, I nonetheless lowered the carb content further by replacing the white sauce (key ingredient – plain flour), with melted cream cheese plus cream.

Asian-Style Moussaka

INGREDIENTS:

1 ½ kg eggplant, cut into 1 ½ cm slices

500g lamb mince

3 Tbsps minced garlic

1 onion, peeled and diced

1 ½ Tbsps oyster sauce

½ Tbsp soya sauce or fish sauce

½ Tbsp chicken powder

½ tsp pepper

¼ cup fried shallots

½ cup diced tomatoes

1 cup shredded mozarella

⅓ cup grated parmesan

¼ cup oil

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Low-Carb White Sauce Ingredients –

1 cup thick cream

125g cream cheese

1 egg yolk

½ cup water

½ tsp white pepper

½ tsp salt

METHOD:

1. Make the white sauce by combining all the ingredients in a food processor and blending them into a paste. Transfer into a saucepan and cook until thickened. (You can do this in a Thermocook or Thermomix if available).
2. Dip the eggplant slices in oil, then pan-fry or airfry until lightly browned.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp oil in saucepan, add garlic and saute until aromatic. Add onion and caramelise.
4. Add minced lamb and brown. Add oyster sauce, soya or fish sauce, chicken powder and pepper; stir to mix.
5. Add diced tomatoes and fried shallots and cook to a thick consistency.
6. Line a non-stick baking tray with a layer of overlapping eggplant slices.
7. Spread with one third of the mince mixture followed by some white sauce.
8. Repeat twice, then spread the top layer with grated cheese and parmesan.
9. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180C for 20 minutes (10 mins if using an airfryer).

I split the recipe into 3 smaller batches and baked them in my Optimum HealthyFry airfryer, which sped up the baking process considerably; more information on this unit can be found at www.prestigehomeappliances.com.au.

The post How to Make Asian-Style Moussaka (Low-Carb) first appeared on Jackie M..

Eggplant Sambal

INGREDIENTS:

1 large eggplant, cut into chunks
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 Tbsps dried shrimp, soaked, drained and lightly crushed
4 Tbsps chilli paste from soaked, blended, dried large chillies
½ Tbsp belacan (shrimp paste) powder (optional)
½ Tbsp chicken powder
1 tsp sugar
Dash of fish sauce
3-4 Tbsps oil

METHOD:

Pan fry eggplant until soft and lightly browned. I used an air fryer and cooked them for 15 minutes at 180C.
Heat 1 Tbsp oil in frying pan. Add minced garlic and dried shrimp; saute until aromatic.
Add all other ingredients and saute until oil separates.
Add eggplant and toss through. Remove and serve.

Visit www.prestigehomeappliances.com.au for more information about the Optimum HealthyFry air fryer used in this recipe.

The post How To Cook Eggplant & Dried Shrimp Sambal first appeared on Jackie M..