Spicy Eggplants With Minced Pork in Clay Pot

⏱ 60 mins 🍽 4 1, 4 serving(s) 🏷 Cantonese

This classic Cantonese clay pot dish combines julienned eggplants with seasoned minced pork. The eggplants are first soaked to reduce bitterness, then simmered in a clay pot with a fragrant base of garlic, shallot, ginger, and chilli bean sauce. The pork is cooked separately before being combined with the softened eggplant and a rich seasoning blend, finished with a light cornflour thickening. The result is a deeply savoury and spicy one-pot meal, ideal served hot directly from the pot.

Spicy Eggplants With Minced Pork in Clay Pot

Ingredients

  • 450 g eggplants
  • 170 g ground pork
  • 1/2 tablespoon ginger, finely chopped
  • 1 tablespoon minced shallot
  • 1 tablespoon garlic, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon chili bean sauce
  • water, adjust while cooking
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons light soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon cornflour
  • 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon light soy sauce
  • 1 teaspoon dark soy sauce
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • 2 teaspoons oyster sauce
  • 2 teaspoons water
  • sesame oil, to taste
  • pepper, to taste
  • 1 teaspoon cornflour
  • 2 tablespoons water

Method

  1. Rinse the eggplants, then trim and cut them into julienne strips. Place the strips in water with a little salt dissolved in it and leave to soak. After soaking, drain them thoroughly. In a separate bowl, combine the ground pork with its listed marinade ingredients and leave for 20 minutes.
  2. Place a clay pot on the heat with 2 tablespoons of oil. Fry half of the crushed garlic, minced shallot, chopped ginger, and chilli bean sauce. Add the drained eggplant and stir continuously. While stir-frying, add hot water gradually in small amounts to prevent sticking. Once the eggplant is coated in the sauce, pour in some boiling water and let it simmer until the eggplant softens.
  3. As the eggplant cooks, heat some oil in a separate frying pan. Sauté the remaining half of the garlic, shallot, ginger, and chilli bean sauce until fragrant. Add the marinated pork mince and cook through, stirring frequently.
  4. When the eggplant in the clay pot has softened, add the cooked minced pork to it. Stir quickly to combine. Adjust the heat and add all the listed seasoning ingredients. Allow the mixture to come to a boil.
  5. Mix the cornflour with the specified water to create a slurry. Stir this into the clay pot to thicken the sauce to your liking. Serve the dish immediately while hot.

Nutrition (per serving)

Sodium1067700 mg

Recipe details

CategoryCantonese
Authorlemon_melonz