pepperhead212
Master Chef
Today I made one of my absolute favorite dishes, that I was craving recently - that Szechwan eggplant dish. I just bought some cheap pork loin, and ground it all up - only had to trim a little over 8 oz of thick fat off one - the rest, were so thin with fat, they wouldn't even be good for sausage! I saved a pound, from the 10+ lbs of ground pork, for the eggplant dish.
The rest I sealed in the Foodsaver bags, 4 half pound, a 12 oz, and the rest 1 lb bags.
I made a double recipe today (as usual), and I used a very large amount of garlic chives, and about a half cup of regular chives, in place of chopped scallions - not traditional, but works great in these things, and I have large amounts of those things out there. And in place of the minced garlic and ginger, I start most of these dishes with, I start with that garlic/ginger paste, I keep in the freezer, mostly for Indian dishes, but I start the oil at a lower heat, then add the Szechwan chili/garlic paste first, then the garlic/ginger paste, and the Szechwan peppercorns and whole peppers, to keep that from browning too quickly. After choking temporarily, I added the meat mix, cooked that about 2 min, then added the eggplant, and SFd that about 2 min, added the sugar, and SFd another 2 min. Then I stirred in 3/4 c water, and loosened anything off the wok, covered, and cooked on medium, stirred a couple of times, for 13 minutes.
Meanwhile, I put about 3½ qts of water on to boil on Sauté/high in the Instant Pot (puts out less heat, which I'm doing enough in that wok!), and when I cover that eggplant, I put in a little salt for the pasta, put about 20 oz of pasta (a good amount for this dish, as you'll see), set it to boil for just 2 minutes, then stop it, and cook it 6 more minutes, then drain it, and rinse it.
When the eggplant is finished, I rinse the pasta briefly (to add a little more water), then dump in on top of the EP, and SF it another minute or so, to absorb the sauce. After a large helping (!) I have a 2 qt and a 1 qt container of leftovers! The kind of things I often eat for breakfast!
About 3 c of garlic chives and and regular chives, in place of scallions, for the Szechwan eggplant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Other ingredients ready for the Szechwan eggplant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
The ground pork, with the chives, soy, and sesame oil, cooking with the garlic, ginger, and hot ingredients. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
A little over 2 lbs of eggplant, cooking with the meat and seasonings, sugar added the last two minutes. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Here's the pasta, ready to fold in finished Szechwan eggplant. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
Finished Szechwan eggplant dish, mixed into spiral pasta. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
The rest I sealed in the Foodsaver bags, 4 half pound, a 12 oz, and the rest 1 lb bags.
I made a double recipe today (as usual), and I used a very large amount of garlic chives, and about a half cup of regular chives, in place of chopped scallions - not traditional, but works great in these things, and I have large amounts of those things out there. And in place of the minced garlic and ginger, I start most of these dishes with, I start with that garlic/ginger paste, I keep in the freezer, mostly for Indian dishes, but I start the oil at a lower heat, then add the Szechwan chili/garlic paste first, then the garlic/ginger paste, and the Szechwan peppercorns and whole peppers, to keep that from browning too quickly. After choking temporarily, I added the meat mix, cooked that about 2 min, then added the eggplant, and SFd that about 2 min, added the sugar, and SFd another 2 min. Then I stirred in 3/4 c water, and loosened anything off the wok, covered, and cooked on medium, stirred a couple of times, for 13 minutes.
Meanwhile, I put about 3½ qts of water on to boil on Sauté/high in the Instant Pot (puts out less heat, which I'm doing enough in that wok!), and when I cover that eggplant, I put in a little salt for the pasta, put about 20 oz of pasta (a good amount for this dish, as you'll see), set it to boil for just 2 minutes, then stop it, and cook it 6 more minutes, then drain it, and rinse it.
When the eggplant is finished, I rinse the pasta briefly (to add a little more water), then dump in on top of the EP, and SF it another minute or so, to absorb the sauce. After a large helping (!) I have a 2 qt and a 1 qt container of leftovers! The kind of things I often eat for breakfast!
About 3 c of garlic chives and and regular chives, in place of scallions, for the Szechwan eggplant. by pepperhead212, on FlickrOther ingredients ready for the Szechwan eggplant. by pepperhead212, on FlickrThe ground pork, with the chives, soy, and sesame oil, cooking with the garlic, ginger, and hot ingredients. by pepperhead212, on FlickrA little over 2 lbs of eggplant, cooking with the meat and seasonings, sugar added the last two minutes. by pepperhead212, on FlickrHere's the pasta, ready to fold in finished Szechwan eggplant. by pepperhead212, on FlickrFinished Szechwan eggplant dish, mixed into spiral pasta. by pepperhead212, on Flickr
