Gochujang pork, eggplant and whipped tofu
Darn. It’s back to reality with a dirty great thud after a glorious summer break, when we enjoy slumming it in the cooking department, letting fresh produce purchases and whatever was knocking around the fridge inform lazy dinner decisions. Very. Lazy. Dinner. Decisions. Tomatoes on toast... dressed leaves... lots of raw fish and canned tuna... smooshed avos... leftover ham... platters of charcuterie and cheese… that kind of thing. But we’re getting our mojo back and looking for ideas that are yum, easy and non-boring for midweek eats. If you feel us. We’re sure you do.
Mince and Asian flavours are a sure-fire winner and that’s the thinking here. We love the slam-it-on-a-huge plate approach to this pork dish, where sweet-spicy mince tumbles over layers of golden roasted eggplant slices, the whole thing dolloped with creamy, dreamy whipped tofu. And you heard right; whipped tofu. Don’t knock it until you try it – it’s delicious and a lovely, creamy foil for the gochujang-spiked pork. Armed with an immersion blender, it’s also very quick and simple to make; use firm tofu and not the silken sort as we suspect it stands up better to being whipped. TBH we haven’t tried using other types so if you venture down a softer tofu path, please report back. Our gut tells us it may not work but our gut has been wrong before.
We made this recipe twice recently; once using bog-standard pork mince and the other with organic. Now, you know we don’t get preachy about the kind of ingredients you should use; cook with whatever you like, can get, or can afford. But we have to say the organic meat was exponentially so much better – it was juicier, porkier and overall tastier than the regular Joe-Blow mince in this scenario. Sometimes it doesn’t matter. Other times it does. Just sayin’. Do with that info what you will. Whichever way you swing, don’t use lean mince as you need a bit of fat for flavour and overall yumness and ean meat won’t give you that.
SERVES 4
2 large eggplant (about 1kg)
2½ tbsp table salt, approximately
vegetable oil
80g (¼ cup) gochujang (Korean chilli paste)
2½ tbsp mirin
2½ tbsp soy sauce
2½ tbsp brown sugar, firmly packed
1½ tbsp sesame oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp finely chopped ginger
500g pork mince
80-125 ml (⅓-½ cup) chicken stock, as needed
steamed rice, toasted sesame seeds and chopped coriander, to serve
Whipped tofu
400g firm tofu, drained and crumbled
2 finely grated garlic cloves (optional)
80ml (⅓ cup) soy milk, approximately
2½ tsp sesame oil
For the whipped tofu, combine all the ingredients in a blender or food processor. Blend or process until very smooth and creamy, adding a little more soy milk if it is too firm. You want a heavy, creamy consistency that falls heavily from a spoon. Refrigerate until needed.
Cut the eggplant widthways into 2.5cm thick slices. Layer the slices in a colander, sprinkling each layer lightly with salt. Stand for 30 minutes for the eggplant to give up some of its juices. Rinse well, drain, then pat dry using paper towels.
Preheat the oven to 220˚C. Brush a large baking tray with 1½ tbsp vegetable oil, then place the eggplant on the tray in a single layer. Bake for 25 minutes, turning once, or until tender and golden. Meanwhile, combine the gochujang, mirin, soy sauce, sugar and sesame oil in a small bowl and stir to combine well.
Heat 1 tbsp of vegetable oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic, then cook, stirring often, for 7-8 minutes or until softened. Remove from the pan, reserving the pan.
Heat 1½ tbsp vegetable oil in the reserved pan over high heat. Add the mince and use a spatula to spread it evenly over the pan. Cook undisturbed, for about 6 minutes or until golden and crusty underneath. Flip it over, then cook for another 4-5 minutes or until light golden; don’t worry if it breaks up a bit. Add the ginger then, using a large metal spoon, break the mince up and cook, stirring often, for another 3 minutes or until golden all over. Return the onion to the pan with the gochujang mixture, stirring to combine; it will instantly boil. Add just enough stock to stop the gochujang mixture catching and to create a little sauciness; you don’t want the mixture too wet. Season to taste with pepper.
Arrange the eggplant on a serving platter, then spoon over the gochujang pork and scatter with sesame seeds and chopped coriander. Serve with steamed rice and the whipped tofu to add, to taste.
