Lift a spoonful and the aubergine falls apart, and the sauce it drank comes down with the mince.
Hot Spice “Shibikara” cuts through that fat. It is a product made for heat, but there is cassia inside it, and what stays longest in the mouth after the last bite is the cold side of it. Aubergine fried in oil holds fat, and the cold arrives there at the end. The aroma of green sansho is the first thing the heat of oil takes away, so half of it dissolves into the sauce and the rest goes in once the flame is out.
The aubergine goes into the microwave as soon as it is cut. It does not drink too much oil, and no water seeps out. Once it reaches the pan, it is seven minutes to the finish.
Total time: about 25 min
Ingredients (Serves 4)
- Hot Spice “Shibikara” — about 1 tsp (a guide; used in two halves. Adjust to the heat you like)
- Aubergines — 4 (about 320 g)
- Minced pork — 200 g
- Naga negi (Japanese leek) — 1/2
- Garlic — 1 clove
- Ginger — 1 knob
- Miso — 1 tbsp
- Soy sauce — 1 tbsp
- Sake — 2 tbsp
- Sugar — 1 tsp
- Chicken stock powder — 1 tsp
- Water — 150 ml
- Potato starch — 2 tsp (to thicken)
- Water — 2 tbsp (to thicken)
- Sesame oil — 1 tbsp (to coat the aubergine)
- Sesame oil — 1 tsp (to finish)
- Oil — 1 tbsp
Long aubergines and round ones both work. Round aubergines have thicker skin, so after cutting them into chunks give them one extra minute in the microwave. Minced pork can be a pork-and-beef mix; the beef makes the fat heavier, so on that day add a little more “Shibikara” at the end.
Preparation
- Cut the stems off the aubergines and cut them into large irregular chunks (about six per aubergine). Leave the skin on.
- Put the cut aubergine in a bowl, add 1 tbsp sesame oil and turn it so every piece is coated. Oil on the skin keeps the purple from fading in the heat.
- Spread the pieces on a heatproof dish, cover loosely with cling film and microwave at 600 W for 4 minutes. Take it out and press off the water that has risen to the surface with a paper towel. Water left here thins the sauce later.
- Slice the naga negi into thin rounds, and chop the garlic and ginger finely.
- Mix 1 tbsp miso, 1 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp sake, 1 tsp sugar, 1 tsp chicken stock powder and 150 ml water, then add half the Hot Spice “Shibikara” (about 1/2 tsp) and stir it in. People differ on how hot they want it, so start light and add more as you taste.
- Dissolve 2 tsp potato starch in 2 tbsp water.
Instructions
- Put 1 tbsp oil, the garlic and the ginger into a frying pan over low heat and fry for about 30 seconds, until the aroma rises.
- Turn to medium, spread in 200 g minced pork and leave it for 2 minutes without touching it. Once the underside has colour, break it up and fry for 1 minute more. Keep breaking it from the start and it stews in its own water, and the grain of the meat blurs.
- Pour in the sauce mixture, bring it to a boil and simmer for 2 minutes over medium heat.
- Add the microwaved aubergine and simmer for 2 minutes, shaking the pan rather than stirring. Move it as if you were spooning the sauce over it. The aubergine is fragile by now.
- Take the pan off the heat and pour in the potato starch slurry. Mix it through, then return to medium heat and stir for about 30 seconds to thicken. Added over the flame it sets in lumps just where it lands.
- Take the pan off the heat, add the remaining Hot Spice “Shibikara” (about 1/2 tsp) and 1 tsp sesame oil, and shake the pan to coat.
- Serve and scatter the naga negi over the top. It goes on raw, so where you bite it the fresh aroma stands up on its own.
- Taste, and if it needs it, one more shake of Hot Spice “Shibikara”. If it is your first time, start light and add more at the table.
How strongly the tingle lands differs a great deal from person to person. On a day you are eating with small children, make it without the half that dissolves into the sauce, and give only the adults' bowls the shake that comes after the flame is out. You can vary the heat person by person without using a second pan.
The next day the aubergine has drunk the sauce and the flavour is deeper. In exchange, the part that was silky has tightened and does not come back. Finish it the day you make it. Beyond plain rice, spooned over boiled Chinese noodles it also makes a meal.
Hot Spice “Shibikara” is a six-part blend that carries green sansho from two growing regions. The tingle is unmistakable, so it suits sitting on the table and being added as you eat.
