Crispy Eggplant With Fish Fragrant Sauce

Name: Crispy Eggplant With Fish Fragrant Sauce
Ingredients: 450 g (1 lb) caster (superfine) sugar; 100 g (3½ oz) liquid glucose; 100 ml (3½ fl oz) light soy sauce; 100 ml (3½ fl oz) Chinese red vinegar; 70 g (2½ oz) soy paste; 2½ tablespoons Chinkiang black vinegar; 2 tablespoons chile bean paste; 2 tablespoons Lao Gan Ma Chili Oil (with peanuts); 1 tablespoon very finely chopped ginger; 2 tablespoons finely chopped garlic; 3 bird’s eye chiles, very finely chopped; 1 teaspoon salt; 2 teaspoons ground Sichuan pepper; ½ teaspoon chile flakes; 50 g (1¾ oz or 1⁄3 cup) sesame seeds; 15 g (½ oz) xanthan gum; 60 g (2¼ oz) rice flour; 60 g (2¼ oz) tapioca flour; Vegetable oil, for deep-frying; 6 Japanese eggplants, peeled, cut into batons about 5 x 1.5 cm (2 x 5⁄8 inch); Sprigs from ½ bunch cilantro, finely chopped; 2 small long red chiles, thinly sliced into rounds; 2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped; 3 tablespoons fried shallots; 1 small handful of baby cilantro leaves and sesame seeds, to garnish