pork stuffed aubergine and rainbow peppers
2 min readThere’s something rather therapeutic about stuffing aubergine and peppers. Maybe it’s the way you get to smooth over the top of the filling so they are neat, or maybe it’s the anticipatory delight of fitting together the pieces of an edible jigsaw puzzle .. whatever the joy is in making them, eating them is even better. From the silky aubergine and crisp peppers to the juicy pork filling, these are great with a liberal dousing of soy sauce.
Serves 23 dried Chinese mushrooms pinch granulated sugar 300g pork mince 2 large aubergines 14 red pepper, green pepper and yellow pepper 34 spring onion, thinly sliced vegetable oil, for frying light soy sauce, to serve for the marinade 12 tsp salt 4% tsp ground white pepper 1 tsp sesame oil tsp bicarbonate of soda 34 tsp cornflour 2 tsp finely grated ginger Soak the Chinese mushrooms in a bowl of hot water with the sugar for 30 minutes, then drain. Re-move and discard the stalks and dice the caps. Set aside.
2 Put the pork in a large bowl and add the marinade ingredients. Pour in 60ml water, then use a pair of chopsticks to vigorously stir in one direction (e.g. clockwise) until the meat starts binding to itself.
Cover and chill for at least 20 minutes.
3 Slice the aubergines into discs about thick, then slice each aubergine disc, horizontally, three-quarters of the way so that the two layers of the aubergine are still attached by a hinge’and can open up like a puppet’s mouth. Cut the peppers in half so you have little cups.
4 Add the chopped mushrooms and spring onion to the marinated meat, mix well, then use a butter knife to stuff the pork filling into the mouth of the aubergine discs and into the peppers. Smootl over.
5 Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large lidded frying pan over a high heat. Arrange the stuffed aubergine discs a single layer in the pan. Fry for 1 minute before flipping them over. Add a further tablespoon oil, tilting the pan to distribute the oil and fry for another minute. Pour in 60ml water and quickly cover. When all of the water has evaporated, reduce the heat to medium and fry for an extra the minute before standing the discs up to brown the meat. Remove from the pan and cover with foil to keep warm. Heat 1 tablespoon oil and fry the peppers filling-side down for 2 minutes. Pourin 40ml water, cover and steam until all the water has evaporated. Serve the peppers and aubergines with a liberal drizzle of soy sauce.
