Spicy Asian eggplant is a pretty common dish at Chinese restaurants. This is my re-creation of it, with pork added, because what’s good without pig is even better with it. This can be done more simply by skipping the salting, cornstarch coating, and frying of the eggplant – just sautéing it with the pork instead. Normally I’m all for the simplest approach, but in this case the extra steps give the eggplant a crispiness that makes the additional effort totally worth it.
Guessipe
- 2 Asian eggplants
- 1 TBSP salt
- 1/3 cup corn starch
- 1/2 lb ground pork
- 2 TBSP soy sauce
- 2 TBSP rice wine
- 2 green onion, chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 TBSP ginger, minced
- 2 TBSP brown sugar
- 1 TBSP garlic-chili sauce
- 1 /4 tsp white pepper
- 1 cup chicken broth
Cut the eggplant into 3-inch long strips. Spread them on a paper towel and sprinkle with salt. Let sit 20 minutes.
Mix pork, soy sauce, and rice wine in a bowl. Let sit 15 minutes.
Pat the eggplant dry. Toss the eggplant in the cornstarch to evenly coat.
In small batches, fry the eggplant in vegetable oil.
Sauté the green onion, garlic, and ginger until they start to lightly brown.
Add the pork mixture, brown sugar, garlic-chili sauce, white pepper, and chicken broth. Simmer 15 minutes.
Pour the meat sauce over the eggplant. Serve with rice.
