Recipe taken from BBC Books recently published Ken Hom – Complete Chinese Cookbook (£25).

RECIPE AUBERGINE WITH SESAME SAUCE

SERVES FOUR

Ingredients

675g Chinese or regular aubergines

For the sauce:

2tbsp sesame paste or peanut butter
½tsp roasted and ground
Sichuan peppercorns
2tbsp sesame oil
2tsp chilli oil
2tsp sugar
1tbsp finely chopped garlic
2tsp chilli bean sauce
2tbsp finely chopped fresh coriander
Salt

Method

Preheat the oven to 200C/400F/Gas Mark 6.

Put the aubergines into a roasting tin and bake them for about 35 minutes if they’re the Chinese variety, or 50 minutes if they’re the larger variety. They should be charred outside and tender inside. Allow them to cool thoroughly before peeling them. Set aside until you’re ready to use them.

To serve the dish, mix all the sauce ingredients together, season with one and a half teaspoons of salt, add the cooked aubergines and mix well.

Serve at once, at room temperature.