Aubergine with Minced Pork

Aubergine fried in long batons with pork scattered through it and a sharp sauce.

Pork. Not vegetarian — contains pork.

Ingredients

• 700 g aubergine, in batons 8 cm long
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 200 g pork mince
• 6 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon ginger, chopped
• 2 spring onions, sliced

Sauce

• 2 tablespoons light soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon black vinegar
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon cornflour
• 100 ml water

Method

1. Cut the aubergine into long batons rather than cubes and toss them with the salt. Leave 20 minutes, then press them dry. Long batons keep their shape through the frying where cubes collapse, and this dish wants them recognisable.
2. Stir the sauce ingredients together.
3. Fry the aubergine in the oil over a high heat in two batches, 4 minutes each, until browned and softening. Take it out.
4. Fry the pork in whatever oil is left until dry and separated, 3 minutes, then add the garlic and ginger for 30 seconds. Six cloves is not a mistake — the garlic is the loudest thing in the dish.
5. Return the aubergine, pour the sauce in, and simmer 3 minutes, turning gently, until it thickens and coats everything.
6. Scatter the spring onions over off the heat.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under China · All recipes