Spicy Eggplant with Pork Mince

eggplants for some reason in Germany are quite expensive or maybe its still not the season for them.  so when they were on sale i went a bit crazy and bought quite a few.  So on a whim i decided to make this dish that i actually miss quite a lot from china.

Spicy Eggplant with Pork Mince (香辣茄子）

Another recipe adapted from Easy Recipes- A Selection of Simple Classics by Christine Ho

serving size: 3-4

Cook time: 35 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 170g pork mince (i just used 5-6 slices of bacon instead)

  • 1 eggplant, julienned (or 2 eggplants if only using eggplant)

  • 2 carrots sliced

  • 1/2 tbsp finely chopped ginger

  • 1 tbsp minced shallot

  • 1 tbsp minced garlic

  • 1 tbsp chili bean sauce

  • boiling water, adjust while cooking

  • 2 tbsp lemon juice

Seasoning:

  • 1 tsp light soy sauce

  • 1 tsp dark soy sauce

  • 1/2 tsp salt

  • 1/2 tsp sugar

  • 2 tsp oyster sauce

  • 2 tsp water

  • sesame oil, to taste

  • pepper, to taste

Marinade:

  • 1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce

  • 1/2 tsp sugar

  • 1/2 tsp corn flour

  • 1/2 tsp vegetable oil

  • 2 tsp water

  • pepper, to taste

Thickening:

  • 1 tsp corn flour

  • 2 tbsp water

  1. marinate pork mince for 20 minutes.

  2. rinse eggplant.  trim and julienne.  soak in water with a bit of salt dissolved and 2 tbsp of lemon juice for 10 minutes. Drain well (This helps remove the bitterness and avoid the pulp from turning black.)

  3. heat 2 tbsp of oil in pan over medium heat.  saute the garlic, shallot, ginger and chili bean sauce.  add carrots and stir fry for a few minutes then add eggplant and stir fry constantly.  also add boiling water bit by bit along the way of stir-frying.  do not add too much water at a time, just add a small amount to avoid burning or sticking to the bottom of the pan.  coat the eggplant with sauce evenly, then add some boiling water to simmer until eggplants are softened.

  4. while stir frying the eggplant, use another frying pan to heat some cooking oil.  add another half of garlic, shallot, ginger and chili bean sauce until aromatic.  add the pork and stir fry until cooked through.

  5. when the eggplant is softened, toss the pork mince in pan.  stir fry quickly.  increase heat to high.  add the seasonings. bring it to boil.  add thickening and cook the consistency to your preference.  serve immediately.

As I decided last minute to buy and cook the eggplant i had not bought any ground meat as i had remembered that i still had some bacon at home, so i thought it would be an ok substitute.  i think the ground meat would have added more  depth of flavor with the additional marinade but it was still very tasted.  in the recipe it actually calls for just eggplant, but as i had some carrots i decided to add them in instead of having just all eggplant.  also i was very surprised at how spicy it as for the whole recipe it only had one tablespoon of the chili bean sauce.  so to counter balance the spiciness of the eggplant, i made some simple pan fried tofu with a little sprinkle of soy sauce and sesame oil.  the chili bean sauce you can easily find at any asian supermarket as well as the eggplant can be SUBSTITUTED with any other vegetable.  this is quite a simple and easy dish to make but it does pack a lot of flavor. 

cooking, chinese, dinnerJackie Wongeggplant, qiezi, spicy, chili bean sauceComment