Eggplant Manta
Time: 1330
Place: Imperial Yuan China
Author: Hu Szu-Hui
Source: Yin-Shan Cheng-Yao (Proper and Essential things for the Emperor's Food and Drink.
Modern Source: Translation from A Soup for the Qan - Paul Buell and Eugene Anderson - 2000
Redaction By: Master Drake (Craig Jones) & Mistress Acacia (Chris d'Aquino)
Redaction Date: 6 December 2011
Place: Imperial Yuan China
Author: Hu Szu-Hui
Source: Yin-Shan Cheng-Yao (Proper and Essential things for the Emperor's Food and Drink.
Modern Source: Translation from A Soup for the Qan - Paul Buell and Eugene Anderson - 2000
Redaction By: Master Drake (Craig Jones) & Mistress Acacia (Chris d'Aquino)
Redaction Date: 6 December 2011
Original Recipe:
Mutton, sheep's fat, sheep's tail, onion, prepared mandarin orange peel (cut up each finely), "tender eggplant" (remove the pith).
[For] combine ingredients with meats into a stuffing. But [instead of making a dough covering] put it inside the eggplant [skin] and steam. Add garlic, cream [or yoghurt etc.], finely ground basil. Eat.
Mutton, sheep's fat, sheep's tail, onion, prepared mandarin orange peel (cut up each finely), "tender eggplant" (remove the pith).
[For] combine ingredients with meats into a stuffing. But [instead of making a dough covering] put it inside the eggplant [skin] and steam. Add garlic, cream [or yoghurt etc.], finely ground basil. Eat.
Ingredients (Manta):
Ingredients (Sauce):
- 5 Finger Eggplants
- 250g Fatty Lamb Mince
- 3 French Shallots - finely chopped (should be about 3/4 cup)
- 1/2 teaspoons of Fresh Mandarin Peel, finely grated (about 1 Mandarin) (note: Used Blood Orange peel - mandarin was out of season)
- Light Pinch of Flaky Sea Salt
Ingredients (Sauce):
- 4 Cloves of Garlic, finely minced.
- 125g Low Fat Greek Yoghurt (can use full fat).
- Pinch of Black Pepper.
- 2 generous pinches of Flaky Sea Salt.
- Handful of Basil Leaves (1/4 cup), finely chopped.
Method:
- Slice top end of the finger eggplant off, core out the eggplant with an apple corer and a knife.
- Finely dice shallots and sweat with a tiny bit of oil (or melted lamb fat) off. Add lamb and fry until brown. Fully cooking the lamb is not required.
- One minute before lamb is done, add orange peel and pinch of salt.
- Let mixture cool
- Setup Bamboo Steamers
- Stuff meat mixture into eggplant, use the back end of a wooden spoon to tamp the mixture in.
- Steam the Manta for 15-20 minutes. Eggplant should be tender but not falling apart.
- Whilst eggplant is steaming, finely mince garlic and fry in saucepan with a drop of oil.
- When garlic is soft, add salt, pepper and yoghurt, turn down to very low and gently simmer. Just before serving add sauce.
- Serve the eggplant, pouring the sauce over the top.