A light Asian style stir fry, spicy pork with steamed eggplant, can be prepped in 15 minutes and cooked in about 25 minutes. I love the light, airy texture of the steamed eggplant. Steaming the eggplant allows it to retain all of the nuanced eggplant flavor, nutrients, and texture without becoming too heavy or soaked with oil.
I steamed my eggplant in a bamboo steamer. You can also use a veggie steamer or a colander. The steamer or colander can be placed in a pot with boiling water and covered. Do not allow the water to come over the eggplant.
The pork and the eggplant are enhanced with the flavors of the sweet soy sauce, sesame oil, mirin, and rice vinegar. Sweet soy sauce, also known as kecap manis, can be purchased or you can make a sweet soy sauce by adding equal parts of brown sugar, molasses, or honey to your soy sauce. Cook the soy sauce over medium to low heat until it is very thick and the sugar is melted. You can store this sweet soy sauce in a jar in the fridge for an unlimited period of time.
After the eggplant is steamed, you can begin to stir fry the seasonings, garlic, jalapeño, ginger, and green onions in hot oil. Use a shallow skillet, sauté pan or a wok if you have one. Next, you will sauté the ground pork until it is cooked through. When the pork is done, add the soy sauce and other fragrant Asian seasonings. Your kitchen will really begin to smell tantalizingly good now!!
After all of the seasonings are combined and allowed to cook for a few minutes, return the steamed eggplant to the wok or pan. Cilantro and chopped roasted peanuts add a little crunch and some aromatic interest.
Save a sprinkle of the cilantro to use as a garnish with the toasted sesame seeds. Serve as is or with a side of steamed rice. This dish makes you feel so good!!!
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