Fish Fragrant Aubergines taste as poetically luscious as they sound, as we found out last night in the kitchen of food blogging wunderkind, Lizzie Mabbott. From Hong Kong but living in the UK since her teens and hankering for a taste of back home, Ms Mabbott took up cooking to get back to the flavours she loved as child. With a well used and lovingly tarnished wok as a testament to her efforts, Lizzie’s ease at the hob wowed us almost as much as the appetizing dish she so aptly prepared for us.
Borrowing a recipe from Sunflower’s Food Galore (an online foodie inspiration for Lizzie), Mabbott fixed her favourite veggie for us in grand style last night. We’re so glad she did. The heat was just right (rather hot!) and the texture of the aubergines with the little bits of mince pork was sublime. Keep reading for the recipe and - should you prepare this fish fragrant dish for yourself (as you should!) - make sure to let Lizzie know!
Lizzie's Hollow Legs blog (lizzieeatslondon.blogspot.com) features regular updated posts of her own tempting recipes as well as reports from visits to some of London’s best restaurants. For those passionate about food, it’s a mandatory read!
Photography by Chris Osburn
Fish-Fragrant Aubergines
Serves 3
2 medium aubergines
200gr pork mince
Cooking oil
3 tbsp chilli bean sauce
1 tsp light soy
½ tsp dark soy
3 fat cloves garlic chopped
2 tsp finely chopped ginger
1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine
1 tbsp black Chinese vinegar
1 tsp sugar
Boiling water
1 medium red chilli chopped
2 tsp cornflour, sluiced (dissolved in 2 tsp of cold water
2 spring onions, chopped on the slant
Few drops of sesame oil
Cut aubergines into fingers, or 1/2" thick rounds. Shallow fry in batches for 2 - 3 mins, till browned and set aside. In a hot wok, heat some oil and fry ginger and garlic for a few seconds, then add the pork mince. Stir fry till brown, then add the chilli bean sauce, light soy, dark soy and sugar. Add the cooking wine with the vinegar. Add the aubergines and a good splash of boiling water, maybe about 70 - 100mls. Stir so that all the aubergines are coated in the sauce, and leave to simmer for 10 mins till the aubergines are soft. Add the chopped chilli, thicken with cornflour and add spring onion and the sesame oil.
Serve with steamed white rice and some steamed greens. Chilli bean paste is a great ingredient for stir-fries and can be bough in most Chinese supermarkets.
