Fragrant eggplant with pork

Aside from baking, I do most of the day-to-day cooking, especially when my parents are overseas (which is, most of the time) and there are only two of us at home. 

I like the spicy South East Asian foods, especially Indonesian and Thai, but I also enjoy the subtle combination of flavors in Japanese food, and everything else in between.

When it comes to cooking it, though, I mostly cook based on what we have on hand (I call it innovative cooking *grins*) or if I'm in the mood, I'm willing to try out new recipes and follow them to a 't'.

For last night's dinner, I tried out fragrant eggplant with pork, adapted from "The Food of Asia" and as the picture in the book suggested, it turned out great!

 Fragrant Eggplant with Pork - serves 4


1 medium sized eggplant/ aubergine
oil for deep frying
50 g lean pork fillet, minced
2 tbsp dried shrimp, soaked & finely chopped
2 tbsp chilli paste
1 tsp salted soybeans, mashed
2 tsp finely sliced scallion
1 tsp finely chopped dried shiitake mushroom
1 cup chicken stock
1 tsp chinese rice wine
1 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp soy sauce
1 tsp dark soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp sugar
1 tsp corn flour mixed with a little water (as a thickener)

1. Wash and halve the eggplant. Slice each half into 1 cm thickness, pat dry.
2. Deep fry the eggplant pieces in hot oil for about a minute, set aside.
3. Pour out all but about 2 tsp of the oil to stir fry the minced pork until it browns slightly. Add chopped dried shrimp, chilli paste, salted soy beans, half of the scallion and the chopped mushroom. 
4. Add in the stock, soy sauces, sesame oil and salt and stir the mixture until combined.
5. Add in the fried eggplant pieces, then thicken with cornflour while stirring.
6. Serve immediately, garnished with the remaining sliced scallion.