🍆 Mapo eggplant

Name: Mapo eggplant
Total time: 30 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: China · Sichuan
Ingredients: 500 g eggplant, cut into thick strips; 150 g ground pork; 1½ tbsp doubanjiang (chili bean paste); 3 garlic cloves, chopped; 1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped; 2 tbsp vegetable oil; 120 ml water; 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water; Sliced spring onion to serve

Origin: China · Sichuan

225kcal

per serving · 250 g

90kcal

per 100 g

10 gProtein4 g / 100 g

15 gFat6 g / 100 g

12 gCarbs5 g / 100 g

Mapo eggplant borrows the sauce of mapo tofu and pours it over soft eggplant. Strips of eggplant are stir-fried until silky, then tossed with ground pork, fermented chili bean paste (doubanjiang), garlic and ginger. The result is spicy, savoury and glossy, with the eggplant soaking up the red sauce. It is eaten with steamed rice as part of a shared meal.

Diets

✓

Dairy-freeno milk, cheese, butter or yogurt in a typical recipe

✓

Keto-friendly5 g carbs per 100 g

Not vegetarianbecause of: ground pork

Not veganbecause of: ground pork

Contains porkbecause of: ground pork

Contains glutenbecause of: doubanjiang

Allergens

Contains (in a typical recipe):

⚠ Gluten ⚠ Soy

What it is made of

eggplantground porkdoubanjianggarlicginger

Recipe

3 servings30 min

Ingredients

500 g eggplant, cut into thick strips
150 g ground pork
1½ tbsp doubanjiang (chili bean paste)
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tbsp fresh ginger, chopped
2 tbsp vegetable oil
120 ml water
1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tbsp water
Sliced spring onion to serve

Method

Salt the eggplant strips for 10 minutes, then pat them dry.
Stir-fry the eggplant in 1 tbsp oil over high heat until soft and lightly browned; set aside.
Add the remaining oil, fry the pork until browned, then add the doubanjiang, garlic and ginger and fry for 1 minute.
Pour in the water, return the eggplant and simmer for 3–4 minutes.
Stir in the cornstarch mixture until the sauce turns glossy; top with spring onion.

How to make it lighter

Steam or microwave the eggplant first instead of frying it — eggplant soaks up oil fast, and 1 tbsp oil ≈ 120 kcal.
Use lean ground pork or halve the meat and add more eggplant.
Serve with a small bowl of rice and a plain green vegetable to keep the meal balanced.

History

The dish is a home-style variation on mapo tofu, the Sichuan classic, using eggplant in place of tofu with the same pork and chili bean sauce. It is cooked across Sichuan and in Chinese restaurants abroad.

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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →