Eggplant with minced pork is an easy Japanese style dish that has a perfect combination of sweet and savory flavors. It has chunky eggplant pieces and ground pork cooked in sweetened miso sauce. Serve piping hot over a bowl of rice!
This is another quick and easy dish that I love to whip up on a busy day. Eggplant with minced pork is packed full of Japanese umami rich flavors, and it is perfect in the warmer season when the eggplants are in season.
The tender eggplants soak up all the delicious flavor in the sauce. You will be amazed by how well it goes with steamed rice!
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Ingredients for this recipe
- Eggplant - You can use either Japanese eggplant which has more flavor and cooks quicker, or American eggplant which I what I normally use for this recipe.
- Miso - Make sure to pick a gluten-free type.
- Sugar
- Sake or dry white wine
- Mirin - Make sure to pick a gluten-free type.
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Ground pork
- Salt
- Sesame oil
Optional toppings:
- Thinly sliced scallions
- Chili threads
- Toasted white sesame
How to make eggplant with minced pork
1. Prepare the eggplant(s). Cut the eggplant into bite size pieces and soak in the water for 3-5 minutes. Drain completely.
2. Make the sauce mix. In a small bowl, combine the miso, sugar, sake, and mirin together. Mix well and set aside.
3. Cook the pork. Heat up the olive oil in a large pan or wok. Cook the garlic until fragrant. Add in the ground pork with salt and cook fully.
4. Cook the eggplant. Add in the eggplant and cook for about 2 minutes or until slightly tender.
5. Season. Pour in the seasoning mix from step 2. Stir gently, then cover the pan with a lid. Lower the heat and cook for 3 minutes or until the eggplant is tender.
6. Add sesame oil. Remove the lid and drizzle the sesame oil. Stir gently. Top with thinly sliced scallions and serve over rice.
Variations
- Add thinly sliced bell peppers for an extra texture and color pop.
- Switch out the ground pork to ground chicken.
- Sprinkle, or mix in some shichimi-togarashi pepper to add a spicy kick.
Frequently asked questions
Soaking helps to remove excess bitterness in the eggplant. It also helps to slow down the discoloring of the vegetable as well.
This dish can be covered tightly and refrigerated for up to 4 days. Microwave, or cook over the stovetop to reheat.
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Recipe
Eggplant with Minced Pork
Ingredients
- 1 pound eggplant stems trimmed off
- 3 tablespoon miso paste
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 2 tablespoon sake or dry white wine
- 2 tablespoon mirin
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 3 cloves garlic minced
- 1 pound ground pork
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil
Optional toppings:
- Thinly sliced scallions
- Chili threads
- Toasted white sesame
Instructions
- Cut the eggplant(s) into bite size pieces and soak in the water for 3-5 minutes. Drain completely.
- In a small bowl, combine the miso, sugar, sake, and mirin together. Mix well and set aside.
- Heat up the olive oil in a large pan or wok. Cook the garlic until fragrant.
- Add in the ground pork with salt and cook fully.
- Add in the eggplant and cook for about 2 minutes or until slightly tender.
- Pour in the seasoning mix from step 2. Stir gently, then cover the pan with a lid. Lower the heat and cook for 3 minutes or until the eggplant is tender.
- Remove the lid and add the sesame oil. Stir gently. Top with thinly sliced scallions.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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