It’s cold and rainy in London again. But some wholesome Chinese home cooking is the cure! This reminds me of the food that I had at home while I was growing up. So it makes me nostalgic for my childhood and makes me feel that cosy at home feeling! I know that this dish doesn’t look pretty but it tastes fantastic especially with a fresh bowl of steamed rice. It’s a true example of ugly delicious, which heavy emphasis on the delicious!
For the spicy bean sauce, I used Lee Kum Kee’s Chilli Bean Sauce (Toban Djan) that I got in my last Farm Drop order. Another plug here for my Farm Drop promo code for £20 off your first order (I am not affiliated with them, I just like their service and products). I also got most of the other ingredients from Farm Drop as well including the aubergines, minced pork, spring onions, and garlic.
I usually do offer veggie or dietary preference modifications in each of my recipes. However, the pork mince is kind of hard to replace! You could try it without the pork mince, also there are now great meat alternatives available. Specifically, there is Omni Pork, a pork alternative product from Hong Kong. I went to their UK launch event pre-covid. Next time that I make this dish again perhaps I will try to make a veggie version of it using Omni Pork!
Spicy Braised Aubergine and Pork Mince
Materials
- 2 Aubergines
- 225 g Minced Pork
- 2 tablespoons spicy bean sauce I used Lee Kum Kee’s Chilli Bean Sauce (Toban Djan)
- 1 tablespoon dark soy sauce
- 1/2 tablespoon salt
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- Dash of pepper
- 2 tablespoons corn starch
- 1 tablespoon oyster sauce
- 1 stalk spring onions chopped
- 3 garlic cloves minced
Instructions
- Before starting to cook, marinate the pork with 1/2 tablespoon salt, 1/2 tablespoon sugar, 1 tablespoon corn starch, a bit of pepper, and a few drops of water. Let the pork marinate for at least 30 minutes.
- Cut the aubergine into rectangular strips. Cook the aubergine in a wok or pan until it is cooked through on medium high heat. Once cooked, remove from wok. Wash your wok because you will be using it to cook the rest of the dish and don’t want the dish to burn!
- Make a thickening sauce with 1 tablespoon corn starch, 1 teaspoon oyster sauce, 1 tablespoon sugar, and 1/4 cup water. You will need these sauces in the next step.
- Heat your wok and cook the spring onions, garlic, and ginger for 3-4 minutes. Then mix in the pork, bean paste and soy sauce. Once the pork is cooked through, mix in the cooked aubergine from step 2. Lastly, mix in the thickening sauce and cook to the consistency you like.
- Serve with some chopped spring onions as a garnish on steamed rice.
