Neil Perry's Pork And Eggplant Stir-fry

Ingredients

• vegetable oil, for deep-frying
• 1 eggplant, diced into 3cm-4cm pieces
• 150g minced pork belly
• 2 spring onions, sliced
• 2 tbsp finely chopped ginger
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp chilli bean paste
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 tsp castor sugar
• 4 tbsp fresh chicken stock
• 2 spring onions, julienned
• pinch of ground Sichuan pepper
• coriander leaves, for garnish

Method

1. Heat the oil in a wok or deep-fryer until almost smoking (about 180C), and deep-fry the eggplant in batches until golden brown (2 to 3 minutes), then drain on paper towel. Carefully pour out the oil and wipe the wok clean.
2. Heat 3 tablespoons of vegetable oil in the wok over a high heat, add pork and stir-fry until it begins to colour (3-5 minutes).
3. Add the spring onion, ginger, garlic and bean paste and stir-fry until fragrant.
4. Deglaze wok with Shaoxing, add soy sauce, sugar and chicken stock, and return eggplant to the wok and simmer until the sauce thickens slightly (3 to 4 minutes).
5. Spoon pork and eggplant onto a serving plate, top with the julienned spring onions and sprinkle with Sichuan pepper.