Thai Pork Stir Fry in Eggplant Boats is a restaurant-quality Thai dish you can easily whip up at home. Once it's prepared, you'll have full boasting rights with whomever you spoil with this dish.
This stir fry recipe is incredibly tasty with a perfect balance of umami, nutty flavour from the sesame oil and a tiny dash of acidity from the vinegar. Pair the sauce with the unmistakeable taste of pork, silky mushrooms and crunchy cabbage and you've got a very impressive dish on your hands.
Ingredient substitutions
If you're not a fan of eggplant/aubergine, feel free to skip them. I won't be offended 😉 The eggplant is really only used as a decoration in this recipe - the actual flesh can be used for something else, like baba ganoush. Chicken mince substitutes perfectly for pork if that's your preference. For nightshade free, replace the red capsicum/bell pepper with a cup of sliced mushrooms.
For a vegan option, substitute tofu and/or extra veggies for the pork.
Before we get to the recipe
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📋 Recipe
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Thai Pork Stir Fry in Eggplant Boats
Ingredients
- 2 medium to large eggplants
Sauce
- 5 cm (2 inch) piece of ginger peeled and finely grated
- 8 medium garlic cloves peeled
- ½ cup tamari
- 3 tablespoons rice wine vinegar or coconut vinegar
- ⅓ teaspoon ground white pepper
- 1 ½ tablespoons toasted sesame oil
- ½ teaspoons fine sea salt
Stir fry
- 2 tablespoons cooking oil
- 1 cup shredded red cabbage
- 1 red capsicum, seeds removed and diced (bell pepper)
- 10 white mushrooms, sliced
- 500 g (1 pound) pork mince/ground pork
- 1 bunch Thai basil washed and leaves removed
Garnish and sides
- Steamed jasmine rice or cauliflower rice
- Coriander/cilantro leaves
- Lime cheeks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 200C/400F. Wash and cut the eggplants in half lengthwise. Then, cut lines diagonally in a criss-cross fashion on the flesh side of the eggplant halves, about 3cm deep without cutting the skin. Place flesh side up in the oven on a tray and bake for 30-35 minutes until the flesh is very soft. Let cool in the oven with the door ajar.
- You may want to cook the rice or other options at this stage, depending on which you are using.
- Cook the vegetable components individually on medium-high heat in a little oil and set aside . While each is cooking, prepare the sauce.
- Prepare the sauce by measuring all ingredients and then blending in the food processor or blender until smooth and well combined.
- Once all the vegetables are cooked, cook the pork in a little oil, breaking up the pieces in to smaller pieces. Add some of the sauce once the pork is almost cooked through.
- Add the cooked vegetables to the pan with the pork, then add the remaining sauce and stir through. Mix in the thai basil leaves, then turn the stove down to low to keep warm.
- Next, scoop most of the flesh from the eggplants and set aside. Be careful not to break the eggplant skin.
- Using an egg lifter, carefully place the eggplant boats on to plates. Gently dish the stir fry in to the eggplant boats and garnish with coriander and lime cheeks. Serve with rice or noodles.
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