This spicy Mabo Nasu using delicious seasonal eggplants goes great with steamed rice. The eggplant is so tender and it dissolves in your mouth!
Please leave a 5 star rating if you like the recipe! 🙂
|
Please leave a 5 star rating if you like the recipe! 🙂
|
Ingredients
Meat and Vegetables
80 g Ground Pork 1/2 tbsp Vegetable Oil 200 g Eggplants 1 Green Bell Pepper (Piman) large-size 1/2 Long Green Onion (Naganegi)
Seasonings
1 tbsp Garlic Cloves chopped 2 tbsp Ginger Root chopped 1 tsp Doubanjiang chili bean paste 1/2 tbsp Tian Mian Jiang sweet bean sauce
Broth
150 ml Chicken Stock 1/2 tsp chicken stock powder, dissolved 1/2 tbsp Soy Sauce 1/2 tbsp Sake 1/2 tbsp Sugar Pepper
Diluted Potato Starch
1/2 tbsp Potato Starch 1 tbsp Water
Other Ingredients
Sansho Pepper optional Sichuan Chili Oil vegetable oil infused with chili peppers and various spices, optional Frying Oil
* 1 tablespoon (tbsp) = 15 ml, 1 teaspoon (tsp) = 5 ml
* The ingredients contain Amazon affiliate links.
Instructions
- Let’s combine the broth. Add the sugar to the chicken stock and dissolve. Add the soy sauce, sake and pepper.
- Trim off the stem end of the eggplant. Cut the eggplant into bite-size wedges by turning it after each cut as Chef is doing here.
- Cut the bell pepper into relatively small bite-size pieces.
- Heat the frying oil to 180°C (360°F) in a pot. Place the eggplant into the oil with the skin side facing down. This will help to give the skin an appetizing purple color, making it visually appealing.
- Gently press the eggplant with kitchen chopsticks to check if it is ready. When it softens, drain the oil and place the eggplant onto a paper towel.
- Reduce the heat to low and place the bell pepper into the oil. Deep-fry it for about 10 seconds.
- When the bell pepper is a vibrant green color, remove and drain the excess oil. Be sure to remove the excess oil using extra paper towels.
- Let’s make the Mabo Nasu. Heat the vegetable oil in a pot. Then, add the ground pork and saute on medium heat. Separate it into small pieces.
- When the redness in the meat has almost disappeared, add the chopped garlic and ginger root and continue sauteing.
- When the aroma grows stronger, reduce the heat to low. Then, add the Doubanjiang, chili bean paste and Tian Mian Jiang, sweet bean sauce.
- Stir-fry the meat and distribute the seasoning evenly. Be sure not to burn it.
- Stir the broth and pour it into the pot. Lightly stir.
- Then, add the long green onion sliced diagonally. Add the eggplant and bell pepper also.
- Bring it to a boil and then cook for 1 more minute to let the ingredients absorb the savory flavor of the meat. Reduce the heat to low.
- Stir the potato starch and water thoroughly. Then, gradually add the diluted starch.
- When the sauce reaches the desired consistency as shown, turn the heat to high. Bring it to a rolling boil again and turn off the heat.
- Remove and ladle the mabo nasu into a bowl. Finally, sprinkle on the sansho pepper and drizzle on the chili oil to taste.
Recipe Notes
We recommend deep-frying the eggplant instead of sauteing since it will make the inside extremely tender and also soften the skin while retaining its appetizing color.
You can also try beef, chicken or mutton instead of the pork in this recipe.
Using sliced meat instead of the ground meat is also another great substitute.
Perfect! Thanks. I won’t be deep frying the veg — too much oil. I will also add carrots and maybe some bamboo shoots. Did you know you can omit the meat? Not quite vegetarian but close enough for me! This recipe is soooo much better than the store bought sauce, it has a lot more flavor.
It is not the best choice but you can leave out the meat. We used the chicken stock so you can still enjoy the savory dish.😋 Thank you for trying our recipe❣️