A Match made in Heaven

Occasionally, when I create a dish I am particularly proud of, I romanticize about the origins of this culinary work of art. Perhaps, I was walking in the woods at the first whisperings of winter, and I come across a beautiful cluster of mushrooms, still glistening with the morning dew. Inspired, I pick a few and whip up a Wild Forest Mushroom risotto with White Truffle Shavings. Or perchance, on another occasion, I receive a punnet of brilliant red strawberries, freshly picked from the nearby fields, their sweet aroma filling the room. I turn these into delicate tartlets of sugary strawberries atop a cloud-like vanilla custard cocooned in flaky, buttery pastry casings.

The reality is that most of the time, my best creations tend to surface less by my being inspired by the wonders of nature than by my need to economise.

So here I was, faced with a bunch of baby eggplants I bought on a whim at Justco just because they were having a special on eggplants. Refusing to be mired by my impulse purchase, I rummaged through the fridge in search of inspiration and then, it found me- 200gm of frozen minced pork that had been purchased so long ago, it was on the verge of death by freezer burn. It was to meet its destiny, in a combination that was meant to be. Maybe, romance on a shoestring is possible after all.

Spicy Eggplant and Minced Meat

Serves 4

4 medium baby eggplants (slice just before cooking)

400 gm minced pork

handful of coriander chopped

1 large garlic clove minced

1 inch ginger minced

Sauce

4 tblspn soy

1.5 tblspn vinegar

3 tspn spicy bean sauce (dou ban jiang)

1 tblspn sugar

1 tpsn sesame oil

1 tspn cornflour mixed with a little cold water

Heat some oil in a pan and fry eggplant until cooked. Remove from pan, and add pork, garlic and ginger into the same pan to brown. Return eggplant to pan and add sauce and cornflour to thicken.