Chinese Eggplants with Minced Pork
If you want to quickly make a delicious and satisfying dish, Chinese Eggplants with Minced Pork is definitely the top choice. The soft eggplants absorb the savory flavor of the minced pork. The two ingredients blend together. A spoonful of this dish served with rice is extremely delicious.
Required raw materials and substitutes
Main ingredients:
Eggplant: It has a soft and waxy texture and absorbs a lot of oil. It is a key ingredient for dishes and can blend various flavors.
Ground pork belly: It has both fat and lean. When heated, it releases oil, making the dish full of meaty fragrance.
Accessories:
Ginger: Removes fishy smell and adds flavor, giving the dish a unique ginger fragrance.
Garlic: With a strong garlic fragrance, it helps enrich the taste of the dish.
Green onion whites: With an onion fragrance that removes fishy smell, making the overall flavor more harmonious.
Green onions for garnish: Used for garnishing plates and enhancing the appearance of the dish.
Seasonings:
Chili paste: Gives spiciness and satisfies the taste buds of those who like spicy food.
Cooking wine: Effectively removes fishy smell and ensures tender meat.
Soy sauce: Adjusts color and increases freshness, highlighting the flavor of ingredients.
Salt: Basic seasoning for controlling the balance of saltiness.
Oyster sauce: Adds freshness and thickness, enhancing the taste.
Pepper: Adds a slight spiciness, removes fishy smell and enhances flavor.
Sesame oil: Drizzled to increase fragrance and make the dish fragrant.
Cornstarch slurry: Used for thickening and making the soup stick to the ingredients.
Cooking oil: Used for frying eggplant and creating a unique texture.
Substitutes:
eggplant: Zucchini can be substituted. After cooking, it has a refreshing taste.
ground pork belly: Ground beef can be substituted, adding a different flavor.
chili paste: Sweet chili sauce can be substituted. The combination of sweet and spicy has a novel taste.
cornstarch slurry: Lotus root powder can be substituted and can effectively thicken and reduce the sauce.
What size is more appropriate for cutting eggplants into cubes?
The eggplant cubes are best cut into a size of 2 centimeters square. At this size, when frying, the heat is evenly distributed, preventing the situation of being burnt on the outside and raw on the inside. Moreover, the size is moderate for eating and can well absorb the flavors of seasonings.
When cutting eggplants, pay attention to keeping the sizes consistent so that the heat is evenly distributed. If cut too large, it is easy for the skin to be cooked while the inside is still raw. If cut too small, it is easy to be over-fried and become soft and shapeless, and it is also very easy to be burnt.
Before cutting eggplants, it is recommended to cut the eggplants in half first, then cut them into long strips, and finally cut them into cubes. In this way, the cut eggplant cubes are more evenly sized and have a more regular shape, which is both beautiful and easy to absorb flavors.
What ratio of eggplant to minced meat is more appropriate?
The optimal ratio is 300 grams of eggplant with 100 grams of minced meat, that is, a ratio of 3:1.
This ratio can keep eggplant in the position of the main ingredient, and at the same time, the amount of minced meat is just enough to enhance the freshness. Both ingredients can be fully flavored. The finished product will neither be too plain nor be too greasy due to too much minced meat.
According to personal taste, it can be adjusted slightly. If you like a lighter taste, use 80 grams of minced meat. If you want a stronger taste, increase it to 150 grams. However, it is recommended not to exceed this amount, otherwise it will overshadow the main ingredient. The most important thing is to evenly coat the eggplant with minced meat when stir-frying so that every bite has the aroma of meat.
What are the taste characteristics of this dish?
It belongs to a taste of salty and fresh with a hint of spiciness, and the overall texture is soft, glutinous, fresh and fragrant.
Judging from the ingredients, the aroma of ginger, garlic and green onion forms the base. Chili paste adds a little spiciness. Cooking wine removes greasiness and enhances freshness. The salty and fresh taste of soy sauce and oyster sauce makes the taste of the whole dish more distinct.
After being fried, the eggplant becomes soft and glutinous, absorbing the fresh fragrance of minced meat and the flavors of various seasonings. The aroma of the fat of pork belly and eggplant are perfectly combined. The final sesame oil locks in all the deliciousness and makes the aroma of the whole dish more intense.
The step of thickening with starch makes the sauce well coat the eggplant and minced meat, so that every bite can taste the complete flavor. The sprinkled green onions not only add color but also bring a fresh taste to the dish.
INGREDIENTS
Main Ingredients
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·1 Eggplant
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·100g Ground pork belly
Accessories
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·5g Ginger
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·5g Garlic
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·5g Green onion whites
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·Green onions (as needed for garnish)
Seasonings
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·5g Chili paste
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·5ml Shaoxing wine
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·5ml Soy sauce
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·6g Salt
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·5g Oyster sauce
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·Pepper (a pinch)
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·10ml Sesame oil
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·Cornstarch slurry (as needed)
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·Cooking oil (for deep frying, amount for half a pot)
Table of Contents
- ·Required raw materials and substitutes
- ·What size is more appropriate for cutting eggplants into cubes?
- ·What ratio of eggplant to minced meat is more appropriate?
- ·What are the taste characteristics of this dish?
- ·Ingredients
- ·Cooking step
- ·More recipes worth trying
- ·Recipe variations
- ·Eating suggestions
- ·FAQs
COOKING STEP
Step 1
Cut 1 eggplant into cubes. Mince 5 grams of ginger. Mince 5 grams of garlic. Cut 5 grams of green onion whites into minced green onions.
Step 2
Heat half a pot of oil in a pan. Add the eggplant cubes and fry until soft. Remove and set aside.
Step 3
Leave some oil in the pan. Add ginger powder, garlic powder, and minced green onion whites. Stir-fry until fragrant.
Step 4
Then add 100 grams of ground pork belly and stir-fry until the color changes.
Step 5
Add 5 grams of chili paste, 5 milliliters of Shaoxing wine, 5 milliliters of soy sauce. Stir-fry evenly.
Step 6
Pour in the fried eggplant cubes. Stir-fry for a while. Pour in 300 milliliters of water and bring to a boil.
Step 7
Add 6 grams of salt, 5 grams of oyster sauce, and a little pepper. Stir-fry evenly.
Step 8
Pour in an appropriate amount of cornstarch slurry to thicken and reduce the sauce. Drizzle in 10 milliliters of sesame oil. Stir-fry for a while.
Step 9
Dish out and serve. Sprinkle with green onions for garnish.
More recipes worth trying
Hakka Stuffed Tofu - A Heritage Dish
Hakka Stuffed Bitter Melon Recipe
Recipe variations
Main ingredient combinations:
Eggplant can be replaced with long eggplant or round eggplant. Minced meat can be replaced with ground pork, ground beef or ground chicken. Douchi can also be added to enhance the salty and fragrant taste.
Seasoning changes:
You can use broad bean paste instead of chili paste, and the taste will be more Sichuan-style. Add a little sugar to enhance the sweetness. Using dark soy sauce instead of light soy sauce will make the color more reddish and bright.
Cooking methods:
Eggplant can be steamed instead of fried for a healthier and lighter taste. You can directly reduce the sauce without thickening, and the taste will be drier. Finally, you can sprinkle crushed peanuts to add texture.
Side dish combinations:
You can add diced green peppers to add texture and nutrition. Add shredded black fungus to add texture. Add diced dried tofu to add a sense of layering.
Eating suggestions
Recommended pairings:
Staple food: Soft and glutinous white rice can fully absorb the sauce of stir-fried eggplant with minced meat and is extremely delicious with rice. Steamed buns are soft and fluffy. Put this dish in a bun and the wheat fragrance and meat fragrance are intertwined. Noodles are smooth. Mix them with the dish and they are covered with fresh and fragrant flavors.
Side dishes: Cold cucumbers have a crisp texture and can resolve the greasiness of the main dish. Stir-fried green vegetables are emerald green in color and add a fresh taste. Blanched lettuce retains the original flavor and is refreshing and can relieve greasiness.
Soup: Seaweed and egg drop soup is extremely delicious. After drinking it, the mouth feels comfortable. Tomato and egg soup is sour and sweet and appetizing. Paired with the main dish, it complements each other and helps with digestion.
Eating methods:
Eat while hot: The freshly cooked stir-fried eggplant with minced meat is steaming hot. At this time, the eggplant is soft and glutinous and the minced meat is juicy, with an excellent taste.
Mix the sauce with rice: When eating, mix the eggplant sauce with rice to make the rice instantly flavorful and you can't stop eating one bite after another.
FAQs:
When stir-frying minced meat, use medium heat. The pan should be hot enough before adding the meat. In this way, the minced meat can quickly shrink and will not stick to the pan. If you find that the minced meat starts to stick to the pan, you can appropriately add a little cooking wine or water and quickly stir with a spatula.
Finally, when thickening with starch water, pay attention to mixing the starch water evenly. When pouring it in, stir while pouring. The heat should be moderate. In this way, the starch can evenly coat the ingredients and will not stick to the bottom of the pan.
When marinating, fully stir the seasonings and minced meat evenly, and finally add starch. If you are in a hurry, you can only marinate for 10 minutes, but the effect will be worse. Marinating for too long will make the meat become tough, so it is not recommended to marinate for more than half an hour.
A simple way to judge the oil temperature is to insert chopsticks into the oil. If fine small bubbles can appear around the chopsticks, it means the temperature is appropriate. If the oil temperature is too low, the eggplant will absorb a lot of oil and become greasy. If it is too high, the surface will be easily scorched while the inside is not yet fully cooked.
When frying eggplant, it is best to put it into the pot in batches to avoid a sudden drop in oil temperature due to putting in too much at once. Fry until the surface is golden. If you can easily pierce it with chopsticks, it can be taken out. It takes about 1-2 minutes.
It is best to add a little white vinegar to the salt water when soaking. This can better maintain the white and tender color of eggplant. After soaking, drain the water and wipe the water droplets on the surface with kitchen paper so that there will be no oil splashing when frying.
However, soaking for too long will affect the taste. If soaked for more than 20 minutes, the eggplant will become too salty and lose its crisp and tender taste. If in a hurry, you can also fry it directly without soaking. Only the color of the finished product will be a bit worse.
REVIEWS
