Recipe for Eggplant Shu Mai

Ingredients for Eggplant Shu Mai:
4
Asian eggplants
1 tablespoon fermented black beans
2 large cloves
garlic
1 slice ginger
1 green onion
3 tablespoons vegetable or
peanut oil, or as needed
1/2 teaspoon hot chile sauce, or to taste
1
tablespoon dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 teaspoon
sesame oil
Freshly ground black or white pepper, to taste
2 dozen shu
mai or gyoza wrappers, or wonton wrappers cut into circles

Eggplant Shu Mai preparation instruction:
Remove the
stem from the eggplant and chop into very small, thumb-sized pieces. (Do not
peel the eggplant).

Rinse the beans. Let sit in the water for a few
minutes to soften. Use a cleaver or knife to finely chop. Peel and mince the
garlic. Mash the beans and the garlic together. Set aside.

Mince the
ginger. Wash and finely chop the green onion.

Heat a wok over
medium-high to high heat. Add 2 tablespoons oil. When the oil is hot, add
the eggplant and stir-fry until softened (about 5 minutes). Remove from the
wok.

Add 1 tablespoon oil. Add the garlic and black bean mixture and
the ginger. Stir-fry until aromatic. Add the green onion and the chile
sauce. Add the eggplant back into the pan and mix everything together. Stir
in the soy sauce, sesame oil and pepper to taste. Remove from the wok. Cool
slightly.

To make the shu mai, lay a wrapper in front of you. Place 1
1/2 - 2 teaspoons filling in the middle. Do not fold the wrapper over.
Instead, gather up the edges to form a basket shape. Make sure the shu mai
can stand up in the steamer.