Aubergine Towers

This is a modern Cantonese dish, with a fusion of seafood sandwiched between aubergine slices, combining the taste of prawn, scallop and squid with the creaminess of the aubergine in one bite. A truly delightful dish to whet your appetite.

Ingredients (Serves 1-2)

• 1 large aubergine (at least 7cm diameter)
• 50g uncooked prawns
• 50g fresh or frozen scallops
• 50g fresh squid
• 50g red and green peppers
• 1 clove of garlic finely chopped
• 2 slices of ginger finely chopped

Seasoning

• 1/2 teaspoon (2g) salt
• 1/2 teaspoon (2g) sugar
• 1 tablespoon vegetable cooking oil
• 1 tablespoon light soy sauce
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 5 tablespoons water

Useful Tips

• You can deep fry the aubergine slices in a deep-fryer instead of frying them in a wok or frying pan, aubergine absorbs more oil during frying, but release the oil after they are cooked.

Method

• Remove shells from the prawns. Clean and dry the prawns, scallops and squid. Cut 2 pieces of prawn in half and leave 2 pieces of scallop uncut - dice the rest of the seafood into approximately 1cm pieces.
• Dice the green and red peppers to similar size.
• Mix all the seasoning ingredients in a bowl with 5 tablespoons of water, leave this aside to use later.
• Heat a wok or a large frying pan to a high heat with 10-12 tablespoons cooking oil.
• Discard the top and bottom of the aubergine and cut 6 (2.5cm thick) slices. Place immediately into the oil and fry each side until soft and golden brown. Remove from the wok and keep them aside for assemble later.
• Pour out excess oil from the wok or frying pan and reheat to very hot until smoke rises. Put the chopped garlic and ginger into the wok and stir for 10 seconds. Then put all the diced seafood and peppers into the wok and stir-fry rapidly for 3 minutes. Stir all the mixed seasonings to prevent the corn flour sticking to the bottom. Pour the mixed ingredients into the wok and blend in with the seafood and peppers for 1 minute. Turn off the heat and you are ready to assemble the tower.
• Place 2 slices of fried aubergine on a serving dish. Using a tablespoon, generously scoop the mixed seafood and peppers on top of the aubergines. Continue the process until 3 layers have been built. Decorate the top layers with the large pieces of prawn and the whole scallops. Pour any remaining sauce on top of each tower and serve immediately.