Frying a Whole Eggplant

[patpat]

I have never cooked eggplant and had the most marvelous eggplant recently.  It was fried whole and just before serving, they split it open and filled it with a creamy parmesan Shrimp & crab mixture.  I have no idea how long to try and fry a whole eggplant.  Any suggestions?

 

[siduri]

Are you sure it was fried and not roasted?  Never heard of it. It sounds interesting.  But frying an eggplant whole would require a ton of oil!

 

[patpat]

Apparently I was wrong, it wasn't fried whole.  From the menu -  whole eggplant hollowed out and breaded then fried and stuffed with sauteed shrimp and blue crab and filled with creamy
   white-wine parmesan cheese

 

[siduri]

That makes a little more sense, but it still would require a lot of oil.  Not a problem in a professional kitchen. 

Sorry i can;t help you with the recipe, but you might want to try to fry slices of eggplant (you can flour, dip in egg and then in breadcrumbs and fry in a frying pan with enough oil to sort of float) and then rather than fill it, top it with something similar.  It would be a dish rather than a bowl, so not as pretty in presentation, but still ok. 

Actually, fried eggplant is a very wonderful dish in itself. 

 

[kyheirloomer]

Siduri, I don't think it would take an inordinate amount of oil. If I'm envisioning it right, they split the eggplant, hollow out each half, bread and fry. These "boats" are then filled with the seafood (and, likely, popped under the broiler for a minute or two).

That wouldn't take any more oil than frying chicken or potatoes or anything of like nature.

PatPat: My guess would be that the eggplant flesh, which is removed from the shells, gets chopped up and likely sauteed, to become part of the seafood filling. The filling is likely a morney sauce binding the (cooked) shrimp and crab together.

Sounds good. I'm gonna have to try something like it.

 

[cookinmt]

That doesn't just sound good, that sounds positively delicious.  Pretty sure I've put on five pounds since joining CT. 

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[boar_d_laze]

There are eggplants and then there are eggplants.  It wouldn't take that much oil to fry a split Japanese eggplant, for instance.  Small eggplants stuffed with seafood are dim-sum staples. 

I can't remember the name of the "creamy parmesan with seafood" sauce/filling described here, but it's become a staple of American cooking.  I'm not sure, but think it started in NOLA, and when it's made with crayfish tails is called "Carolyn." 

BDL

 

[siduri]

Siduri, I don't think it would take an inordinate amount of oil. If I'm envisioning it right, they split the eggplant, hollow out each half, bread and fry. These "boats" are then filled with the seafood (and, likely, popped under the broiler for a minute or two).

Well, my impression is that if it's a regular-sized eggplant, and you cut it in half, the depth of the shell would be at least an inch and a half or more - and if it were hollowed out before frying, you'd want to fry the inside too, so the whole thing should be covered in oil, which would have to be hot and stay hot.  Actually here we have very thin eggplants too, but in the states they;re pretty thick if I remember right.  Kind of complicated to fry a concave thing like that.  I can see in a big deep fryer, but not in a frying pan for sure. 

 

There are eggplants and then there are eggplants.  It wouldn't take that much oil to fry a split Japanese eggplant, for instance. 

Yes, exactly.  But to be stuffed with all that stuff, it sounds like a bigger one was used. 
 

 

[homemadecook]

I think am gonna have fried eggplants for today. thanks for the tips. /img/vbsmilies/smilies/smile.gif