eggplant and pork shoulder

have you ever eaten eggplant? how was it prepared? what did it taste like? did you like it?

i love eggplant. i love its texture. i love the way it soaks up all the juicy goodness from the pan and melds those flavors with its own. i love that it can be the main attraction of a meatless dish and yet lend its flavor to the greater good in a lasagna. i love it grilled, sauteed and stir-fried. i love eggplant.

*clap clap clap*

the funky purple eggplant is used widely in asian cuisine. this versatile, spongy-firm vegetable is wok-fried chinese-style drenched with a sweet garlic sauce or stuffed with pork and fried for dim sum, simmered thai-style in a boat of green curry or stir-fried with ground meat and mint leaves, dipped and battered japanese-style as tempura, and makes regular appearances in indian curries and persian stews. it's quite a versatile ingredient.

the eggplant also comes in many shapes, sizes, and colors aside from the ubiqutous large, dark purple american version. check out cook's thesarus, a favorite reference site of mine, for some great pictures and brief descriptions of the many varieties of eggplant and the differences between them.

interestingly enough, as versatile and available eggplant is around the world, i have yet to see american cuisine embrace it beyond the eggplant parmagiana creation. my friend john just mentioned he "doesn't do eggplant. my mom forced us to eat eggplant when we were children so we've been scarred for life." do people really not like eggplant? what's not to like? maybe the mushy texture was off putting. or perhaps the many seeds in the american varietal were too bitter for john's tastebuds. my mom stir-fried eggplant when i was a kid and i loved it. i still can't quite figure out how she made the lusciously soft and fragrant eggplant the way she did without asking her for the recipe, but oh the memories. 3 rice bowls and an empty serving dish later...

so i'm here to share my own eggplant recipe in hopes that you eggplant junkies and you eggplant haters might converge on one extremely tasty veggie. it's hard to write down exactly what i did because i've made this dish so many times i just toss ingredients and seasonings in without thinking. but here it goes...

(note: this dish really isn't for those who are counting calories or have clogged arteries. if you want something more healthy, with eggplant, um... don't eat it. it's not good boiled or steamed and never eaten raw.)

start with 2 lbs. chinese eggplant. (this variant is long and large with a pale purple coloring; it's milder in flavor than japanese eggplant and has less seeds than amerian.) chop into large chunks, exposing as much flesh as possible with your cuts. fry the eggplant in batches in 2-3 tablespoons peanut oil per batch until slightly browned and semi-soft. it will continue cooking in the sauce later. set aside in a dish.

in the same pan, heat another 2 tablespoons peanut oil and drop 4 smashed garlic cloves in the hot oil to fragrant it. don't let it burn. add 1 lb sliced pork shoulder (1/2" to 1" cubes are fine or however you want) and stir fry until rare.

i used pork shoulder in this dish because i couldn't find ground pork at albertson's. well actually, they did have ground pork but it was a ridiculous $3/pound. you can get this at an asian market for less than $1/pound on a bad day. the point is you should never not make a recipe just because you don't have the exact ingredients. it's much more fun to substitute and there's this great sense of accomplishment and creativity.

moving on. while the eggplant cooks, you should quickly prep the following: 1 green bell pepper chopped, 1 yellow onion chopped, 4 scallions chopped into 2" pieces or so, 1/3 bunch of cilantro rough chop.

also prep the following in a bowl: 2 T oyster sauce, 1 T fish sauce, 2 T hoisin sauce, 1 T soy sauce, 2-3 T sugar. (optional for more flavor depth would be slivers of ginger, 2 cloves garlic minced, and chopped thai basil leaves)

add the onions to the pork and stir-fry until translucent. add the peppers and deglaze the pan with a 1/4 cup white wine or rice wine. after a couple minutes, add the sauce, scallions, a few squirts of siracha hot sauce (optional, but great perker upper) and let flavors meld for 1-2 min.

stir in the cilantro last minute...

and plate.

by this point, the eggplant will have cooked down to a soft consistency and absorbed all the wonderful juices of the dish.

the flavor should be savory and garlicky. the pork should be tender and the greens still crisp.

my only criticism in my preparation was that i added the bell pepper way too early so that it was soft and mushy (= bad) by plating time. but the star here really is the eggplant and while it ain't the healthiest way of enjoying it, it sure is one of the tastiest that i know of. who knows, maybe it'll becomes yours too...