I’ve been craving eggplant fritters lately, so I picked up some fresh eggplant from the traditional market for just 4,000 won.
I usually order these at lamb skewer restaurants or Chinese restaurants, but this was my first time making them at home.
Instead of a traditional batter, I used rice paper to keep things simple and mess-free.
Aside from the eggplant and rice paper, most of the ingredients are things you probably already have in your kitchen, so it’s an easy dish to put together.
Ingredients
- Eggplant – 3, about 400g total (about 14 oz)
- Salt – a pinch
- Rice paper – 25 (Vietnamese-style rice paper wrappers; found at Asian grocery stores)
(1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)
Sauce
- Water – 100ml (about 3.4 fl oz)
- Sugar – 2 T
- Corn syrup – 5 T (Korean mul-yeot syrup; can substitute with corn syrup or honey)
- Jin-ganjang – 2 T (Korean soy sauce used for cooking; can substitute with regular soy sauce)
- Ketchup – 3 T
- Vinegar – 3 T
- Gochugaru – 1 T (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
- Cheongyang chili pepper – 1 T chopped (Korean hot green chili; can substitute with jalapeño or serrano pepper)
- Carrot – 60g (about 2 oz)
- Onion – 100g (about 3.5 oz)
(1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)
How to Make It
1Cut the eggplant into bite-sized chunks, place in a bowl, and season lightly with a pinch of salt.
2Dip the rice paper sheets in warm water to soften, then wrap each piece of eggplant.
3Heat plenty of oil in a pan and fry the wrapped eggplant.
4Once golden brown, transfer the fritters to a bowl.TipRice paper has natural starch that makes pieces stick together as they fry, so it’s best to fry them all first and separate them afterward rather than trying to keep them apart while frying.TipThe fritters are very hot right out of the oil, so let them cool slightly before eating.
5Finely chop the carrot, onion, and cheongyang pepper, then stir-fry them in oil.
6Once the onion turns translucent, add the water, corn syrup, ketchup, vinegar, jin-ganjang, sugar, and gochugaru, and simmer until it reduces to a thick glaze like in the photo.TipI skipped adding a cornstarch slurry so the sauce would blend more easily with the fritters, but feel free to add one if you prefer a thicker sauce.
7Pour the finished sauce over the fritters and toss well to coat.TipIf you prefer dipping over tossing, skip pouring the sauce and serve it on the side instead.
I only poured sauce over half of the batch since I wanted to dip the other half separately.
Wrapping the eggplant in rice paper before frying gave it a chewy texture similar to sweet and sour pork made with glutinous rice, and the coating stayed intact instead of falling apart.
Using rice paper instead of frying batter also meant there was barely any mess to clean up afterward.
I also had some jorangi rice cakes left in the freezer, so I fried those too, and they turned out surprisingly delicious.
They smelled nutty like popcorn, with a crispy outside and chewy inside – a genuinely addictive snack.
This rice paper eggplant fritter recipe works well for a home party, kids’ snack, or housewarming spread, and I’ll be back soon with another simple, delicious recipe.
Ingredients
- Eggplant – 3, about 400g total (about 14 oz)
- Salt – a pinch
- Rice paper – 25 (Vietnamese-style rice paper wrappers; found at Asian grocery stores)
- (1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)
Sauce
- Water – 100ml (about 3.4 fl oz)
- Sugar – 2 T
- Corn syrup – 5 T (Korean mul-yeot syrup; can substitute with corn syrup or honey)
- Jin-ganjang – 2 T (Korean soy sauce used for cooking; can substitute with regular soy sauce)
- Ketchup – 3 T
- Vinegar – 3 T
- Gochugaru – 1 T (Korean red chili pepper flakes)
- Cheongyang chili pepper – 1 T chopped (Korean hot green chili; can substitute with jalapeño or serrano pepper)
- Carrot – 60g (about 2 oz)
- Onion – 100g (about 3.5 oz)
- (1 T = 15 ml / 0.5 fl oz, 1 t = 5 ml / 0.17 fl oz)
How to Make It
- Cut the eggplant into bite-sized chunks, place in a bowl, and season lightly with a pinch of salt.
- Dip the rice paper sheets in warm water to soften, then wrap each piece of eggplant.
- Heat plenty of oil in a pan and fry the wrapped eggplant.
- Once golden brown, transfer the fritters to a bowl.
Tip.Rice paper has natural starch that makes pieces stick together as they fry, so it's best to fry them all first and separate them afterward rather than trying to keep them apart while frying. - Finely chop the carrot, onion, and cheongyang pepper, then stir-fry them in oil.
- Once the onion turns translucent, add the water, corn syrup, ketchup, vinegar, jin-ganjang, sugar, and gochugaru, and simmer until it reduces to a thick glaze like in the photo.
Tip.I skipped adding a cornstarch slurry so the sauce would blend more easily with the fritters, but feel free to add one if you prefer a thicker sauce. - Pour the finished sauce over the fritters and toss well to coat.
Tip.If you prefer dipping over tossing, skip pouring the sauce and serve it on the side instead.
