Eggplant ribbons make a better wrapper than slices here. A vegetable peeler gives you long, even sheets that roll tightly around the filling and cook through in the time it takes the pork to firm up, so nothing steams soggy. The whole plate is built from one sauce, split between the mince and the pan.
Chinese · Main
Eggplant Rolls Stuffed With Pork in a Glossy Oyster Sauce
Long eggplant shaved into ribbons, wrapped around a seasoned pork mince and pan fried, then finished with the same oyster sauce mix used to season the filling.
- Prep25 min
- Cook15 min
- Serves3
- LevelEasy
Ingredients
| 1 | long eggplant , about 300 g |
| 200 g | pork , coarsely ground |
| 1 small segment | scallion , finely chopped |
| 3 tbsp | oyster sauce , for the filling |
| 2 tbsp | chicken bouillon powder , for the filling |
| 1 tbsp | caster sugar , for the filling |
| 20 g | cornstarch , for dusting the rolls |
| 1 tbsp | oyster sauce , for the sauce |
| 1 tbsp | cornstarch , for the sauce |
| 100 ml | water , for the sauce |
Method
- Chop the scallion finely and work it into the pork along with 3 tbsp oyster sauce, the bouillon powder and the sugar. Knead for a minute so the mince turns slightly sticky.
- Top and tail the eggplant, then run a vegetable peeler down its length to make thin, wide ribbons. Discard the first and last strips, which are mostly skin.
- Lay a ribbon flat, spread a thin layer of pork across it, leaving a centimetre clear at each end, and roll it up. Do not overfill or the roll will split in the pan.
- Roll each bundle in cornstarch so the whole surface is dusted, then shake off the excess.
- Stir the remaining oyster sauce and cornstarch into the water to make a thin slurry.
- Set the rolls seam side down in a lightly oiled pan over low heat and leave them alone for 3 to 4 minutes, until the base is browned and releases easily. Turn and brown the other side.
- Pour in the slurry, cover and let it bubble for 2 minutes, until the sauce thickens and turns clear.
- Spoon the sauce over the rolls and serve straight from the pan with rice.
Notes
- Low heat is the point. A hot pan colours the outside before the pork inside is cooked through.
- The filling is already salty from the oyster sauce and bouillon, so taste the sauce before adding anything else.
- Courgette ribbons work the same way if eggplant is out of season, though they need a minute less in the pan.
Ratios and technique checked against missamy929 on Douguo (不上火0难度巨简单的【茄子肉卷】). The method here is written by Stellaok; the photograph is the source kitchen's, credited on the image above and linked back to the page it came from. No recipe text is reproduced.