I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

June 6, 2012

Stuffed Eggplant Yum Cha


















I know I've mentioned how much we love Yummy Cha

As well as enjoying it out and about, I've been slowly building up my own set of gluten and dairy free dishes for when we can't be bothered going out.

Sometimes you just get a hankering for that one dish, and it's nice to be able to whip it up or pull it out of the freezer ready to go when you are.



This is another one of my favourite Yum Cha dishes, Stuffed Eggplant, it's also pretty much the same as Stuffed Tofu, so I count them as the one dish really. The eggplant is so silky, stuffed with a soft delicious filling and then covered with a thin crispy shell of crunch to finish off the sublime taste and texture sensation, and the tofu is the same, just a bit bouncier when bitten into which is just as nice as well.




I'm not going to actually give 'real' measurements for the recipe today though Dear Readers, as it really depends on the size of your eggplant/tofu that is the carrier for this dish.



My filling ingredients for today were some nice pork rashers, shiitake mushrooms and spring onions






















I started by finely chopping some nice pork rashers. I wanted some fat to keep the filling moist and I didn't want it cut too fine as I also wanted some nice texture to chew on as a contrast to the silkiness of the eggplant flesh




















I also finely chopped my spring onions and the shiitake mushrooms-  Home Grown!












Then to the flavouring ingredients: ginger,white pepper,garlic and chili paste. You need more of this than you might think as really the tofu and eggplant are quite bland on their own and need a fair bit of ooomphing up. I used a good heaped tablespoon of each, and could have added just a touch more



















Mix together thoroughly. I find that using my hands really is best for this kind of thing, and it's fun to mush it all up as well

If you want to check the seasoning, you can take a small amount and quickly cook it off - steam, fry, microwave, whatever- then adjust accordingly



















Drain and pat dry the tofu



















Cut in half- hopefully a bit neater than this though




















Cut the eggplant into lovely half moons a bit over a centimetre thick, the slice a pocket through the centre of each without cutting all the way through the back






















Pack the stuffing in nice and firmly or it will be too lose and fall out once cooked





















Turn the tofu into a cute little sandwich by carefully loading it up with a decent amount of packed pork filling as well




















Place the eggplant and the tofu into a lightly greased steamer basket, and steam for about 10/12 minutes or until the filling is cooked and the tofu is bouncy firm

















Let it cool down, then cut the tofu into nice cubes- I cut mine into 6 pieces







Put the egg white into a shallow dish, and break up lightly with a fork.



















Dip the pieces of tofu and eggplant into the flour, then the egg whites, then back into the flour again- making sure to shake off any excess at each dunking.

You could just mix the two together to make a slurry type of batter if you want instead, but I like the way this coating is firmer when it's cooked





















Heat your oil and fry off the pieces until they are nice and crispy and starting to brown






















Drain quickly on a rack while you do the rest, this will stop them going soggy





















Cross section of both the eggplant on top, and the tofu underneath. Nice and cooked through inside but nice and crispy outside, yummo




















I served my Yummy Cha dish with a nice dollop of chilli bean sauce, but you could have them plain, with soy sauce, black bean and garlic sauce, or whatever takes your fancy.

These will definitely go into my Dim Sum repertoire for the future and are a sure favourite already!


















So Dear Readers, have you tried this dish before, and would you chose the tofu or eggplant version?




















Now, as promised I have a Second Blogaversary Give Away!

This time the prize is a Junior Master Chef Burger Kit
















to enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me if you'd like to win. I will draw the winner by my patented Cat-Raffle Method as usual, and announce the lucky person next post. Good Luck!





















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34 comments:

  1. Omg I love it, this is so wonderful. I would have never thought to try and make this myself. Man I miss yum cha... hmmm I usually go for the eggplant version but either would be fab.
    Heidi xo

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  2. That looks fantastic! I don't actually remember seeing it at yumcha though, but it looks so yummy! Will definitely try making this one. :)

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    1. I guess each establishment has it's own specialties, let me know how you get on Jenny :)

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  3. This looks great Rebecca! I thought that it would be hard to make this dish with how delicate tofu is but yours looks great!

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    1. I was a bit concerned too Lorraine, but nothing ventured.... :)

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  4. What a great recipe. That filling must be so tasty with both the eggplant and the tofu. I would love to win so count me in! I'm not sure whether I would prefer the tofu or the eggplant - I'm sure if I was served this I would definitely want to try both! And I'm so impressed that you grow your own mushrooms xx

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    1. Thanks Charlie, I love both too! ANd you are now the proud owner of a Junior Master Chef Kit for Alfie! I hope he'll invite me around for dinner if I'm ever in the neighbourhood, but a photo of his scrummy burgers would be nice in the mean time :)

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  5. Rebecca - this looks amazing! I can almost taste it, yummm! I love your knife too!

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    1. Thanks Ina! My knives are all Japanese Shun Knives, they are so lovely and sharp and just the right size and wieght for smaller girl hands. Most boy chefs I know use bigger,heavier European knives instead, but I love my Shun's :)

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  6. What a creative way to make something so delicious looking... I love eggplant and tofu, so this is a perfect match:)

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  7. I've never eaten these at yum cha but now I TOTALLY want to :D

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    1. I hope you give them a go Nic, but there are just so many yummy choices at yumcha!

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  8. Dear InTolerant Chef,

    I love the combination of the mixture of pork and mushroom and this could be something I would do at home for a main course.

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    1. I hope you give it a go Chopinand, let me know how you go and what sauce you serve with them :)

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  9. Becca, I'm Chinese, and I've never known anyone to make this at home! I'm so impressed! :)

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  10. Bec I'm so impressed with your commitment! I'm far too lazy to go to all of this trouble, which means I'll never get to try such a splendid dish, but I'm writing this from Hong Kong so I might just waddle off for some yum cha right now!

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    1. Oh just rub it in Amanda!! What a great place to be visiting and eating at:) You lucky duck you!

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  11. Oh wow! You tried making Yong Tau Foo! WUHOO! Respect!

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    1. Never knew what it was called before Msihua, we just point to the baskets we want :)Glad to have a name to the face!

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  12. OMG!!! This is one of my favourite things to eat too... These are PERFECT!! Very true to the cuisine and delicious in every way. It's amazing that you were so motivated to create this dish just from craving it! I wish I could be more like you and had your dedication haha

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    1. I think you do pretty well with your creativity Winston! I love to try different things :)

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  13. Eggplant is not something I regularly use but I think I would give this a try... I am sure it was delicious.

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    1. I used to avoid eggplant like the plague Sherilyn, my mum would just boil it and it was soggy and slimy and gross! This way it is crispy but silky and sublime :)

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  14. Yum cha is so hard to have when you eat out as most of the dishes are gluten contaminated....thank you for sharing so I can enjoy some of it's glory at home :)

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    1. That's right Chompchomp, that's why I love to make it so I don't have to miss out :)

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  15. Looks great! I haven't tried to make any Yum Cha dishes at home, I still love the ritual of tea and trolleys, but I'd be willing to give this recipe a go!

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    1. Nothing beats the atmosphere of the steamy crowded restaurant, but at least this captures some of the taste :)

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  16. I'd chose eggplant (tofu - ack!) , though in all honesty anything with pork in would get my vote :-)
    PS Those 'prove you're not a robot' thingys I have to do to comment are doing my head in! (I am beginning to suspect I AM a robot!!!)

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    1. I love pork too Janet, and tofu isn't too bad once you make friends with it :)

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  17. Wonderful recipe! will make this minus the pork of course maybe with some chicken mince. My little Master Chefs would love to dress up and make burgers.

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