Pork and Aubergine in Hot Sauce

This is classic hot and spicy dish influenced by the Sichuan province of China.

Ingredients:

175g lean pork, cut into thin strips
2 spring onions (scallions), finely chopped
1 3cm piece root ginger, cut into fine matchsticks
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp dry sherry (or rice wine)
2 tsp cornflour (cornstarch)
600ml oil for deep frying
225g aubergine (eggplant), cubed
1 tbsp hot chilli sauce
1 tsp Sichuan pepper, ground to a powder
4 tbsp chicken stock
finely-chopped spring onion, to garnish

Add the pork to a bowl along with the spring onions, ginger, garlic, soy sauce, sherry, cornflour and Sichuan pepper. Mix thoroughly and set aside to marinate for at least 20 minutes.

Add the oil to a wok and heat until almost smoking then add the aubergine and deep fry for about 1 1/2 minutes. Remove from a pan with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.

Pour off all but about 1 tbsp of he oil from the pan then add the pork and stir-fry for about 1 minute. Add he aubergine, soy sauce and the pork marinade and cook until the sauce begins to bubble then add the chicken stock and continue cooking until almost dry.

Transfer to a warmed serving plate, garnish with the chopped spring onion and serve immediately accompanied by plain rice.

About the Author

Dyfed Lloyd Evans is the editor of the Celtnet Recipes site and this recipes is presented as part of his Asian Recipes collection. You can also add your own recipes at his Celtnet Articles site.