Early December - it's dark early morning and early evening and Jack Frost's chilly fingers are never far away. But it's not all bad news because this is the ideal time to try a warming, Japanese donburi of stir fried pork and eggplant flavoured with a rich, umami-full miso sauce. This dish is deceptive - it prepares simply but the flavours are anything but simple. Try this for lunch when you need something rich and sustaining to help you through the afternoon. Or try it for dinner when you want a nourishing reward at the end of the day.
This dish is a cinch to prepare and will only take about 30 minutes from prep to table. Because this is a stir fry, I like to tenderise the pork and leave it to absorb a little oil and mirin to soften it before cooking - that way everything cooks nice and quickly. Likewise, the eggplant / aubergine gets a little soak in water to reduce any bitterness from the flesh. Apart from those simple hacks, everything else is pretty straightforward - some cutting, a little sauce mixing and then a few minutes of stir frying and your dish is ready. Simple but delicious - need I say more?
If you'd like to try out this Japanese winter warmer, you can find the Youtube tutorial by clicking Stir fried Miso Pork and Eggplant Donburi or by scrolling to the bottom of the page. You can find the written recipe just below.
Happy cooking! Kurumi XXXX.
ingredients:
(makes 2 substantial servings)
2 portions of cooked rice
2 pork shoulder steaks
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 medium (140g / 5oz) aubergine/ eggplant
1/2 medium or large onion
1/2 bell pepper
for the sauce:
2 tbsp white or red miso past
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp vegetable oil
First, prepare your pork steaks by laying steaks on a chopping board and covering them with a square of cling film. using a steak hammer or a rolling pin, hit the steaks all over to tenderise - use enough force to make the steaks to flatten and expand a little
remove the cling film and use a sharp knife slice the meat into thin strips
once you have sliced both steaks, place the pork into a bowl. add 1 tbsp of mirin and 1 tbsp of vegetable oil. stir well and leave for about 15 mins to allow the meat to soften a little more
in the meantime, cut the top and tail off the aubergine / eggplant. cut in h alf lengthways and slice into diagonal bite size pieces
place the pieces in a bowl and add enough water to soak for them for about 10 minutes to reduce any bitterness
top and tail the onion and cut into 6 chunks
remove the seeds from the bell pepper. slice into 4 and then cut into bite size pieces
with the meat and veg prepped, it's time to prepare your sauce;
put the miso, soy sauce, sugar and mirin in a bowl and stir until blended
heat a medium or large frying pan. add the pork and stir fry for 2 minutes or until the pork has coloured
next, add the vegetables and the additional tbsp of vegetable oil. stir fry for about 5 minutes more
now add the miso sauce. stir fry for another 2 minutes or until the aubergine / eggplant has coloured and softened
now it's time to plate up:
spoon the rice into 2 serving bowls to create your donburi rice base. top with the stir fried pork and vegetables. pour any remaining sauce over the topping and serve immediately
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