Chinese braised eggplant and pork
I'm always on the lookout for dishes I can eat while in ketosis. This required very little tweaking to make it right for me. It's delicious! Sorry about the word usage but I didn't write it. I tried to help where I could. I also made my version with some spicy heat to it. I will definitely make this again, but next time I'll skin the eggplant. Recipe follows.
Braised Eggplant
I like the oil stewed eggplant in the restaurant, but it is too oily to cook the eggplant like that! So making braised eggplants at home is also very good!
The picture recipe shows the use of a Wok. But a frying pan nwould work better on a western style range top.
Ingredients
500g eggplant (18 ounces) Chinese is best, but purple globe can be used, if using PG skin it
2 green peppers, slivered
1# pork, slivered (beef or chicken would also work) (increase to 2# for an entree)
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon Garlic sauce (what is this? I just used more garlic)
2g salt (˝ tsp) (not required, skip salting the eggplant esp’ if on a low sodium diet)
3 cloves garlic ( 1 tsp+ gran garlic)
2 tablespoons Soy sauce (I used dark and that was plenty of sodium)
1 tablespoon+ Cooking wine (dry sherry?)
1 tablespoon Sugar (erythritol for keto)
1 TBL chicken base or low sodium chicken base (Herbox no sodium, if on a low sodium diet)
1/4 cup water
(what follows are my additions)
1 tsp toasted sesame oil
2 TBL Harrissa (or Sambal)
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes (not needed if using Sambal but I liked the slight heat)
Chopped chives or green onion
How to make it (Braised Eggplant)
1. Prepare the ingredients, the eggplant I bought is tender (young).
2. Cut the eggplant into the shape you like, slivers, chunks, wedges, (skip what follows. soak it in light salt water for a few minutes, and then put it in a basket to dry the water!) When the eggplant is soaked in light salt water, we slice the green peppers, sliver the meat, and garlic and ginger! Use a spoonful of light soy sauce, a spoonful of dark soy sauce, a spoonful of sugar, appropriate amount of salt, and a few dried red peppers to make a bowl of soup! (Also chicken base, water, sherry)
3. Pour a little oil in the pot (pan), start to fry the shredded pork with ginger and garlic, and stir out all the fat (?)
4. When the meat is almost fried, pour in the eggplant, and stir-fry until the eggplant becomes soft
5. When the eggplant becomes soft, add the green peppers and stir-fry for a few more times until (then) the prepared “soup” (the liquid ingredients) is poured into the pot.
6. Pour the broth and stir-fry for a few times, then squeeze in an appropriate amount of garlic paste, fry, then pour half a bowl of water (a very small bowl) from the side of the pot (to allow the eggplant to braise), put the lid on, and simmer for four or five minutes! (Simmer til tender)
7. When the soup (liquid in pot) is almost dry, add chicken essence or monosodium glutamate, sprinkle with chives, and serve!
Tips:
The heat must be mastered, I have been switching between medium fire and high fire!
