Japanese Ginger Pork

If you have little kids at home, feel free to reduce the amount of ginger. If you’re a spicy food lover, I strongly recommend you generously garnish with more freshly grated ginger on top of the fried pork.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 10 mins
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Ingredients:

• 320 gm pork (fillet, pork neck or collar butt)
• baby bok choy, to taste
• 3 tsp freshly grated ginger, plus more for garnish
• spring onion, finely chopped, for garnish

Seasonings:

• 3 Tbsp salt-reduced light soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp mirin
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp white rice wine

Method:

1. Mix all the ingredients of seasonings and grated ginger in a mixing bowl. Set aside.
2. Rinse and cut the baby bok choy lengthways. Briefly cook them in salted boiling water until softened. Drain out and soak in cold water in order to help keep its green colour. Drain well again. Place on a serving plate.
3. Slice the pork, each about 5mm in thickness. Wrap the slices in plastic wrap and tenderize by pounding flat with a rolling pin.
4. Heat a little oil in a non-stick frying pan or a skillet over medium-high heat. Dip the pork slices into the seasonings. Quickly brown in the hot pan. You might like to proceed in batches. Immediately serve with the bok choy. Garnish with spring onion and freshly grated ginger. It goes really well with steamed rice.

Notes：

• You can cook the remaining seasonings in a sauce pan and bring it to a boil. Drizzle over the cooked bok choy. It’s very delicious.
• As the pork is pounded to be very thin, it will absorb the seasonings and cooked through very quickly. Make sure not to over cook the pork, lest the pork turns tough.
• Mirin is a Japanese condiment, available at supermarkets or Asian grocers.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Braised Honey Pork Ribs

Simply put all the ingredients in a deep pot or a slow cooker. Then you’ll enjoy succulent and juicy rib meat nearly fallen off the bones after a few hours of simmering. The meat is coated with wonderfully tasty sauce. It goes really well with steamed rice.

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 3 hours
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Ingredients:

• 780 gm American ribs
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 2 tsp grated ginger root
• 2 cloves minced garlic

Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp hoisin sauce (海鮮醬)
• 2 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 2 Tbsp mirin
• 2 strips orange rind, each 2cm x 3cm
• 1½ Tbsp honey
• 2 tsp sesame oil
• 1 tsp Tabasco sauce, optional
• 1½ cup water

Method:

1. Cut the pork ribs into pieces. Blanch in boiling water to remove blood and any impurities, for about 3 minutes. Drain well. Wipe dry with kitchen papers. Season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
2. Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook the ribs over high-medium heat until lightly brown. Push ribs to the sides of the pan. Add some oil. Saute the ginger and garlic until aromatic. Stir to combine with the ribs well. Transfer into a deep pot or a slow cooker.
3. Pour sauce over the ribs. Place a piece of baking paper on top and cover with a pot lib. Bring it to a boil. Reduce heat to low, and simmer for about 3 hours, or until the ribs are softened, sauce reduced to 1/5 and thickened. Along the way of cooking, occasionally stir the ribs to get them heated evenly. Serve hot with sauce.

Notes：

• To place a piece of baking paper on top of the ribs while cooking, it helps to keep the surface of ribs moist and glossy.
• The secret ingredient to make this tasty dish is Lee Kum Kee’s hoisin sauce and honey.
• Mirin is a Japanese condiment, available at supermarkets.
• To get the best results, use heavy based pot or a slow cooker if you have.
• As the power of every stove and the material of every cooking utensil is very different, the amount of water used will be different too. Top up with some boiling water along the way of cooking if needed.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Dandan Noodles (擔擔麵)

Prep time: 15 mins
Cook time: 15 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredients:

• 285 gm Shanghai white noodles
• 150 gm pork mince
• 2 cups chicken stock, boiled
• 1 Tbsp (about 15 gm) peanuts
• 2 tsp minced ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 2 tsp minced shallot
• chopped spring onion, for garnish

Marinade:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp cornflour / corn starch
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• pepper, to taste
• sesame oil, to taste

Sauce:

• 3 Tbsp water
• 1 Tbsp sesame paste
• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1½ tsp black vinegar （黑米醋）
• 1 tsp chilli bean sauce （辣豆瓣醬）
• 1/2 tsp peppercorn chilli oil, to taste
• 1/2 tsp sesame oil
• salt, to taste

Method:

1. Combine the pork with the marinade. Set aside for about 15 minutes.
2. Fry the peanuts in a small pan without any oil, until aromatic and lightly brown. Roughly chop them. Set aside. Combine all the ingredients of the sauce in a cup.
3. Cook the noodles and rinse with cold water according to the instructions on packaging. Drain well and divide them into 2 to 3 serving bowls. Set aside.
4. Heat oil in a wok or frying pan. Saute the ginger, garlic and shallot until aromatic over medium heat. Add the pork and stir fry until the surface turns white. Pour in the chicken stock. Bring it to a boil. Add the sauce and combine well. Divide the soup and ladle on top of the noodles. Sprinkle the peanuts and spring onion. Serve immediately.

Notes：

• The sauce is the soul element of this noodle dish. Don’t skip the sesame paste. You can easily get it from any Asian grocers.
• You might like adjust the amount of chilli oil and chilli bean sauce according to personal preference.
• Don’t ever over-cook the white noodles. The noodles should be rinse in cold water immediately once they’re finished blanching. This step will help prevent the noodles turn mushy. You might replace the white noodles with udon noodles, that taste equally good.
• Black vinegar is available at Asian grocers, and can be replaced with white vinegar if you can’t find any.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Sticky Baked Pork Ribs (Juicy and Succulent)

To get the best results, use ceramic or oven-friendly glass baking dish.

Prep time: 10 mins（plus marinating time）
Cook time: 40 mins
Yield: 2 to 3 serves

Ingredient:

• 400 gm American pork rib
• Marinade:
• 2 Tbsp Char Siu sauce ( Chinese barbeque sauce)
• 1 tsp ground bean sauce
• 2 tsp freshly grated ginger sauce
• 3 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• 2 to 3 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Rinse pork ribs and wipe dry. Mix with marinade well. Store in fridge with cover, at least 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 180C / 356F. Remove pork ribs from fridge and rest in room temperature for about 20 minutes.
3. Transfer pork ribs into a ceramic baking tray. Top side faces down. Put all the marinade on top of the ribs. Cover with foil and bake in the preheated oven, for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil. Turn the other side of ribs over. Spoon the sauce over the top. Continue to bake for another 15 minutes, or until the sauce reduces by half. Brush honey on top. Bake for another 5 minutes. Remove the ribs from oven. Let the pork ribs rest for 5 minutes. Cut the ribs and serve immediately.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Baked Pork Chops with Caramelized Onion

Caramelized onion and pork chops are wonderful partners. If you haven’t tried it before, do give it a go. You’ll know how fantastic the taste is. Making caramelized onion is quite simple, just need a bit of patience and time. After baking, the pork chops become tremendously tender and juicy.

Baked Pork Chops with Caramelized Onion (Printable recipe)

By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 10 mins
Cook time: 60 mins
Yield: 3 to 4 serves

Ingredients:

• 760 gm pork loin chops
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 2 onions, shredded
• 200 ml chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp brown sugar
• freshly grated black pepper, to taste
• sea salt, to taste
• water, to taste

Thickening:

• 2 tsp cornflour/corn starch
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

• Rinse the pork chops and wipe dry with towel papers. Pound the pork chops with the back of a knife cleaver or a meat tenderizer. Season with sea salt and pepper on both sides. Lightly coat with plain flour. Set aside.
• Preheat oven to 180C (350F). Line a deep baking tin and grease some oil on the surface if necessary.
• Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan. Pan fry the pork chops over medium-high heat until both sides are lightly brown. Transfer into the lined baking tin. Cover with foil. Bake for about 20 minutes.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil and butter in the frying pan. Add the onion, sauté over medium-low heat until softened. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the brown sugar. Continue to cook until the onion turns dark and really soft. If you find the onion is too dry while cooking, you might need to add some water, about 1 tablespoon at a time. Don’t add too much water in one go.
• Remove the pork chops from the oven. Place the onion on the top of pork chops. Pour in the chicken stock. Cover with foil again. Put them back into the oven and continue to bake for another 15 to 20 minutes. Let the pork chops absorb all the flavours.
• When the pork chops is ready, place on a serving platter. Strain out the onion and pour the sauce into a small saucepan. Bring it to boil, add the thickening and cook to preferred consistency. To serve, top the pork chops with onion, ladle the sauce over the pork.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Pig’s Trotters in Ginger and Sweetened Vinegar 豬腳薑醋

This traditional Chinese dish conveys a mystical message even in Chinese community, as it’s often cooked for women post-labour. In fact, it’s a dish that everyone, including men, can enjoy, and needless to have a fear of embarrassment. Many Chinese yumcha restaurants offer this dish with a very pricey tag. The pig’s trotters (aka pork knuckles) are so moist, tender and succulent after the slow cooking in the tasty sweetened black vinegar. The natural collagen of pig’s trotters is very good for our health too. Both of my daughter and hubby especially like the hard boiled eggs that soaked in the tasty sauce. They can finish one after another. What I have to do is to make sure they don’t over eat.

Every family has its own version of this dish. The recipe I posted here is adapted from my mother-in-law’s cooking. She used to cook this dish for her daughter and every daughter-in-laws in her family, including me of course. Lucky me, I could learn from her in person during my travel back to Hong Kong. Hope you’d enjoy this dish as much as I do. A side note, my MIL only uses the Pat Chun Sweetened Vinegar（百珍甜醋）, because she loves its taste the most and doesn’t need to blend it any other kind of vinegar.

Trotters in Ginger and Sweetened Vinegar (Printable recipe)
By Christine's Recipes
Prep time: 30 mins
Cook time: 120mins

Ingredients:

• 730 gm pork trotter (pork hocks/pork knuckles)
• 200 gm ginger, old or young
• 2 bottles (600ml each) sweetened black vinegar (I used Pat Chun sweetened vinegar)
• 6 eggs

Method:

• Peel the ginger. Cut into smaller pieces if it’s too large. Lightly bruise the ginger with the broad side of a cleaver or chef’s knife. Cook over low heat on a wok or fry pan without any oil. (This cooking method is called “white wok” (白鑊) in Chinese, that means frying without any oil.) By doing so, help the ginger dries up the water inside as much as possible. Make sure not to burn the ginger though. When the ginger looks dry, add a bit of oil, fry the ginger until aromatic. Set aside.
• Use a large clay pot or a casserole (Don’t use cast iron or metal ones though, not suitable for cooking vinegar.) Pour in the vinegar. Cook over medium heat and bring it to boil. Add the ginger. When it boils again, reduce heat to low and simmer for another 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Cover and store at a cool and shady place, the vinegar and ginger will keep longer. Or place in a fridge, let the ginger absorb the flavour. You need to cook the ginger vinegar and bring it to a boil once a week, then let cool. If the vinegar is not polluted, it could last for 4 to 5 weeks, long enough to sustain for consuming during confinement period.
• Rinse and clean the pork trotters/hocks, remove any hairs if any. Blanch in boiling water for about 20 minutes to remove any impurities and blood. Drain well. Set aside.
• Remove ginger vinegar from fridge. Place at room temperature for a while. Then cook and bring it to a boil. Add the pig’s trotters. When it boils, reduce heat and simmer for about 1 hour, or until the pork becomes tender.
• While cooking the pork, prepare hard boiled eggs: Place eggs and water in a saucepan, the water should cover the eggs. Turn on the heat, cook the eggs on medium heat and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 6 minutes. Drain out the eggs with a slotted spoon and immediately transfer to a bowl of very cold water. Leave to cool completely. Shell the eggs.
• Transfer the eggs to the ginger vinegar. When it boils again. Turn off the heat. Let the eggs soak in the vinegar until turned brown on surface. Done. Serve hot.

Notes:

• The amount of ginger used here was quite small compared to an ordinary confinement one as I just cooked this to ease our craving. You could adjust the amount of ginger and pork to your preference. It’s very flexible.
• Make sure the vinegar cover all the ingredients, so get a clay pot or casserole in the right size.
• The traditional way of making this confinement dish for women is to use old ginger. That said, old ginger is good for helping women to expel wind from abdomen and get speedy recovery from giving birth. However, the woody, fiberous texture of old ginger is quite tough, not an enjoyment to eat for some people. Thus, if you don’t cook it as a confinement dish, just like me, use young ginger. You’ll enjoy the less hot taste and tender texture of young ginger more.

Other yummy pig trotter recipes:

• Braised Pig's Trotters in Sweetened Vinegar Recipe (猪脚醋) from Tastes of Home
• Pork Trotters in Black Vinegar 猪脚醋 from Table for 2 or More

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Crispy Roast Pork Belly (脆皮燒肉)

When it comes to making this roast pork belly, the rind must be very dry. And poke as many holes as possible, yet don’t poke too deep through the rind though. The rind won’t be crispy any more otherwise.

Ingredients:

• 1.2 kg pork belly
• 1/2 Tbsp Shaoxing wine, optional
• rock salt, to taste

Seasonings:

• 3½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp five-spice powder

Method:

1. To prepare the seasonings: Combine salt with sugar and five-spice powder well. Set aside.
2. Use a knife to scrape away any impurities and hair. Rinse thoroughly. Blanch in boiling water for about 15 minutes, until 60 to 70% done, and the skin is softened. Drain well and wipe dry with paper towels.. Use needles to poke the rind as many holes as possible. Turn over to other side, cut a few slits on the meat to help absorb seasonings better.
3. Rub wine evenly on pork. Let rest for a while. Coat the meat with seasonings evenly. Make sure there‘s no seasonings on the rind, otherwise the five-spice powder will darken it.
4. Wrap the pork meat with foil and leave the rind unwrapped. Place in fridge, let air dry overnight in fridge.
5. Preheat oven to 200C/395F.
6. Remove pork from fridge and remove foil. Let rest at room temperature for a while. Poke the rind with needles evenly once again. Wipe dry. Season the rind with rock salt. Bake in preheated oven for about 30 minutes (Remark: I used convection oven. If ordinary oven used, bake for 45 minutes.) Increase temperature to 220C/430F, bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until you get enough cracklings. (If ordinary oven used, move the pork from middle rack to upper. Grill the rind until evenly blistered and browned.)

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Swedish Meatballs with Cream Sauce (Ikea Recipe)

Ikea has made known their Swedish dishes around the world, especially the Swedish meatballs attract countless fans. Every now and then, my hubby and I would drop in their restaurant to taste their signature dish. To me, the lingonberry jelly is a must-have add-on. If without it, I’d feel it won’t be Swedish at all.

You can tell how I’m addicted to Ikea meatballs, when spotting the picture of Ikea cookbook below. Yes, I did buy their cookbook just for wanting to make the dish at home. The original recipe in the cookbook, uses Swedish measurement, that is dl instead of ml. Although I tweaked slightly by replacing breadcrumbs with the unsweetened rusk flour simply because I couldn’t find any here from supermarkets, my family was very satisfied with the end result.

Do you like Swedish meatballs? Or do you whip up your own meatball recipe? If so, feel free to drop a line to share with us.

Swedish Meatballs with Cream Sauce (recipe from Ikea's Real Swedish Food Book ) (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 250gm minced beef
• 250gm minced pork
• 1 egg
• 200-300 ml cream and water (or milk and water) (I used half milk and half water)
• 2½ Tbsp onion, finely chopped
• 50 ml unsweetened rusk flour (I used ½ cup of breadcrumbs.)
• 2 cold boiled potatoes
• 4-5 Tbsp butter, margarine or oil
• salt, white pepper (allspice)

Method:

1. Heat the onion till golden in a couple of tablespoons of lightly browned butter.
2. Mash the potatoes and moisten the rusk flour in a little water.
3. Mix all the ingredients into a smooth mixture of the right consistency and flavour generously with salt, white pepper and (optional) a little fine-crushed allspice.
4. Use a pair of spoons rinsed in water, shape the mixture into relatively large, round balls and transfer to a floured chopping board, then fry them slowly in plenty of butter.

Ingredients of cream sauce:

• 100 ml cream
• 200 ml water or beef stock
• Chinese soya sauce (I used 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce and 1 teaspoon of dark soy sauce.)
• 1 Tbsp white flour
• salt, white pepper

Method:

1. Swirl the water or beef stock in a pan. (Cook over medium heat.)
2. Add cream and thicken with white flour if preferred. Season well with salt and pepper.
3. Serve the meatballs with the sauce, freshly boiled potatoes (I used extra potatoes to make mashed potato), uncooked lingonberry jam and salad.

Enjoy the authentic taste of Swedish meal!

Note: 

• As a few readers asked me whether the potatoes are for making meatballs or for making mashed potato. Sorry for a bit of confusion. The "2 cold boiled potatoes" in the section of "ingredients" are for making meatballs. Whereas the mashed potato served on side shown in the above pictures are extra.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Steamed Pork Buns (菜肉包)

This recipe of steamed buns comes late, a bit behind my original schedule. These pork buns were cooked last week and posted on my Chinese food blog a few days ago.

Over the past few days, south-east Queensland has experienced a very devastating flood, so called “inland tsunami”, similar to 1974 tragedy. The family was spared as we are not in the flood zone. Sadly, countless suburbs, the CBD of Brisbane and Ipswich are inundated, awaiting for clean up once the flood waters are clear. My mind was totally occupied by all those images and news about the flood through the media. It’s so sad to see many people lost their houses, their business, their property and even their loved ones. I’ve ever seen such a horrible flash flood since I moved to Australia. Hope I won’t see any again. My thoughts and hearts are out to all those affected in this traumatic flood.

The flood came so quickly, much quicker than anyone expected. So, be thankful and enjoy what you have right now. Even if it’s something as simple as eating a few buns, it's a bliss by itself. Speaking about the buns, they can be kept in freezer for up to two to three weeks once they are steamed and cooled down. I usually take one or two out form the freezer, needless to defrost, and quickly bring their softness and freshness back by steaming in a wok/steamer for breakfasts.

Steamed Pork Buns (菜肉包) (Printable recipe)

Prepare 10 6cmx6cm baking paper/wax paper

Ingredients:

• 200 gm plain flour
• 2 tsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• ½ tsp instant dry yeast
• 1/3 cup water
• 1/3 cup, warm milk (should be under 40C)
• a pinch salt

Fillings:

• 130 gm Taiwanese cabbage (or other vegetables you like), shredded
• 170 gm pork mince

Seasonings:

• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• ½ tsp freshly grated ginger
• ½ tsp sugar
• ½ tsp chicken powder
• ½ tsp salt
• 3 Tbsp water
• pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Mix pork with seasonings well. Chill in fridge for about 15 to 20 minutes. Combine pork with cabbage. Set aside.
2. Use a measure cup or a bowl, pour in milk. Add ½ teaspoon of sugar and yeast. Rest for about 5 to 10, until bubbles arise.
3. Combine flour, 1½ teaspoon of sugar, water, oil and yeast mixture, knead into a smooth dough.
4. Place the dough in a bowl, covered with a cling film. Let rest for 15 to 20 minutes.
5. Transfer the dough onto a clean surface. Cut into 10 equal portions. Shape each in round balls, then roll into a disc with a rolling pin, with edges thinner than the middle. Wrap a spoonful filling inside, pinch seam tightly. Place on a piece of baking paper. Repeat this step with the rest of the dough. Transfer to a steamer/wok, covered, let rest for about 15 to 20 minutes.
6. Add cold water into steamer/wok. Steam buns over medium-high heat. When steam is vigorously releasing, continue to steam for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat, let rest for 10 to 15 minutes. Serve hot.

Notes:

• You can substitute with other vegetables, like baby bok choy, chive, or any vegetables you like.
• The buns you steamed might look a bit yellowish if you use ordinary flour. Except you use the bleached flour, then your buns would look as white as those bought from shops. But I used the ordinary, unbleached flour, and made it whiter by adding some milk in the process of making the dough. So the buns shown in this post were quite white. If you use only milk without any water to make buns, they’d look even whiter. As I don’t want these Chinese buns taste heavy milk flavour, I just incorporated water to milk, with a ratio of 1:1. You can adjust the ratio according to your preference. You can skip the milk if you don’t like, of course. Just replace it with the same amount of water. That’s easy.
• Please refer to this post on how to wrap Chinese buns with video shown.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Pork Rolls with Creamy Onion Sauce

This dish was created for the Campbell’s Soup (Hong Kong) website. I feel honoured to be invited to create recipes for their products. The original recipe of this dish, Pork Rolls with Creamy Onion Sauce was written in Chinese. Upon receiving good feedbacks from my fans who tried this recipe, I decided to translate it into English to share with my English reading readers. Hope you’d like it. If you’re not living in Hong Kong and can’t easily find the Hong Kong Campbell’s onion soup, you might replace it with any other creamy soup to your liking that comes in handy for you. Take an example, this Cream of Chicken, Campbell’s soup (Australia) is also a good choice for cooking this dish.

This dish was especially designed for Winter Solstice (冬至), a traditional Chinese festival, that normally falls on 22 December every year. So when I plated up the dish, I used a round shape represents “fulfillment” and “achievement”, much like the symbolic meaning of eating glutinous rice dumplings (湯圓Tang Yuan) on that day.

Pork Rolls with Creamy Onion Sauce (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 15 thinly sliced pork, each about 10cmx3cm
• 5 asparagus, each 24cm long
• 1 small onion, shredded
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 can (412 grams) Campbell’s Creamy of Onion soup
• 200 ml water
• 2 tsp Shaoxing wine or white rice wine
• salt, to taste
• white pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Blanch asparagus in salted boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes. (Note: Don’t overcook them. Let them remain crunchy.) Remove and immediately soak in cold water. When they cool down completely, drain well. Wipe dry with kitchen papers. Cut each into 4 sections, about 6cm long. You should get 20 sections totally.
2. Use a small sauce pan. Add soup and water. Mix well. Bring it to a boil. Turn off the heat. Set aside.
3. Roll asparagus with pork, one by one, with seams facing downward. You might like to secure each with a toothpick. Season with salt and pepper.
4. Heat oil in a frying pan. Add onion and garlic, sauté until onion becomes translucent. Transfer onion in the soup mixture. Stir well. Set aside.
5. Add some more oil in the pan. Carefully arrange pork rolls in one single layer, with seams onto the pan first. Cook over medium-high heat for about 2 minutes. Turn the other side and continue to cook until lightly brown. Sprinkle wine. When the pork is cooked through, dish up.
6. Arrange the pork rolls onto a serving plate in a circle, or any pattern you like. Ladle soup mixture in the middle. Top with asparagus for garnish. Serve immediately.

Tips:

• I used the pork for BBQ bought from a Korean shop. They are already cut into thin slices, very handy to use. If you can’t find any thinly sliced pork, you might ask your butcher to help you.
• Cook the seams of the pork rolls first. Then they won’t be broken apart easily. If you secure the rolls with toothpicks, remember to remove the toothpicks before serving for the sake of safety.
• By soaking the blanched asparagus into cold water, you stop the cooking inside and keep the bright green colour, even after frying with the pork.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Shanghai 'Zha Jiang' Noodles (炸醬麵)

When I came across the recipe of Zha Jiang Noodles (炸醬麵) on Almostbourdain, I said to myself, I’d make it one day. That “one day” had come eventually.

I often cook rice not noodles for dinners. After moving to Australia, I still try my best to keep the Chinese tradition and cook 3 dishes with one soup for dinner. If I’m not wrong, Ellie asked me twice on twitter, that if I still followed the Chinese tradition making 3 dishes. My answers were “yes” and “no”. I would try to, as long as I have time and energy. Honestly speaking, many things would get into my way so that I can’t keep this tradition. For an instance, my daughter needed to go out before 5:30pm the other day. Apart from the time constraint, cooking dinner that early was not my default mood. Then Ellie’s Zha Jiang noodles came up in my mind instantly. It’s a yummy quickie, good for meals at any time, for lunch, dinner or supper.

For making this dish, all you need is to get the “sweet bean sauce” with Shanghai noodles. Both of them are easily found at any Asian grocery stores. For the vegetables and minced pork, I think it’s not a problem for you at all.

Shanghai 'Zha Jiang' Noodles (炸醬麵) (Printable recipe)

Recipe adapted from Almostbourdain

Serves 4
Ingredients:

• 500 g Shanghai noodle (I cooked 450 gm)
• 2 tbsp sweet bean sauce (more if you prefer stronger taste)
• 500 g minced pork (I added marinade, see below)
• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 cup water (I used Campbell’s salt-reduced chicken stock)
• 1 carrot, thinly shredded
• 1 cucumber, thinly shredded
• chopped spring onions for garnish

Marinade:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Heat a wok or frying pan with oil. Add pork mince (Note: I mixed it with marinade for 15 minutes before stir frying.) and stir fry until brown. Add ginger and garlic and stir fry together with the pork mince until fragrant.
2. Add sweet bean sauce, dark soy sauce and mix until combined.
3. Add 1/2 cup of water/chicken stock, bring to a boil and then lower heat to a slow simmer until sauce is thicken. Add sugar to taste.
4. Cook the noodle according to packet instructions. Drain and put into four individual serving bowls.
5. Divide pork mince into 4 equal portions and pour on the noodle.
6. Sprinkle with chopped spring onions and garnish with shredded carrots and cucumber.
7. Serve immediately.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Tortilla with Chorizo

Breakfast is very important to my family. We’d like to have different things with rich nutrients to start a day. Eggs are my family’s favourite, especially for my husband. He’s a big fan of eggs. Or I can say, he likes to have any dish that cooked with eggs. That’s easy for me, isn’t it? The tortilla with chorizo sausage is quick and easy to make. We’d love it served hot with a cup of tea.

Tortilla with Chorizo (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 145 gm potatoes (Desiree potatoes preferred), peeled and diced into about 1.5cm cubes
• 150 gm chorizo sausage, skinned and sliced
• 2 eggs
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 10 gm butter
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste
• 1 tbsp parsley leaves, chopped

Method:

1. Place the potatoes in boiling water and cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Test by a sharp knife that easily poked in the potatoes. Drain well. Make sure not to over cook the potatoes, otherwise they would break into pieces and fall apart when stir fry with other ingredients later.
2. Heat butter and half of the vegetable oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, cook until translucent. Toss in chorizo and cook until releases some oil. Add garlic, potatoes, season with salt and pepper. Gently stir and combine all ingredients. Make sure not to break the potatoes because you want to keep their nice dice shapes. Cook about 3 minutes. Stir in chopped parsley. Set aside and let cool on a plate.
3. Whisk the eggs in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Heat the frying pan over medium heat. Add the remaining vegetable oil. Mix the cooled potato mixture in the whisked eggs. Then pour into the pan. Gently stir the egg mixture with a fork as if making an omelette.
4. Once the eggs are half-cooked, stop stirring. Reduce heat to low and cook for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the underside of the tortilla is almost cooked. Flip over and cook the top side, until both sides are cooked the same and the middle of the tortilla is still soft. Serve hot.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Shredded pork with Salted Vegetables Rice Noodle Soup

If you have traveled to or lived in Hong Kong for a while, you must have known this popular Shredded Pork with Salted Vegetables Rice Noodle Soup (雪菜肉絲湯米粉). The salted vegetables used in this noodle soup is called “雪菜/雪裡紅” (xue cai in Chinese), a kind of pickled greens made from mustard. It goes fantastic well with pork, usually cooked in soup, sometimes stir-fried. This time I also added some shredded chicken to increase more proteins and textures, as well as cleared away the leftovers in my fridge. This dish is my family’s favourite, quick lunch throughout the year.

Shredded pork with Salted Vegetables Rice Noodle Soup (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 120 gm pork, shredded
• 120 gm chicken, shredded
• 500 ml chicken stock
• 500 ml water
• 50 gm salted vegetables (canned), available at Asian grocers
• 330 gm rice noodles
• 2 to 3 stalks baby bok choy
• sesame oil, to taste
• salt, to taste
• red chili (optional), chopped

Marinade:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp vegetable oil
• pepper, taste

Method:

1. Follow the instructions of the packet, blanch rice noodles in boiling water until softens. Rinse with cold water to remove the starch outside, then drain well. Set aside. Soak salted vegetables in water with 1/2 teaspoon of salt dissolved, for 20 minutes. Rinse for a few times. Press all the excess water out from the vegetables. Cut into smaller pieces. Wash baby bok choy and cut into halves lengthwise.
2. Mix pork and chicken with marinade for 15 minutes.
3. In a large saucepan, bring chicken stock and water to a boil. Add salted vegetables, pork and chicken. When it boils again, add rice noodles. Again it boils, add baby bok choy lastly because you don’t want to overcook them and keep them freshly green. Season with salt and sesame oil. Sprinkle red chili if desired. Serve hot.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Spicy Pork Mince and Noodles in Crisp Lettuce Cups

Cellophane noodles are also known as Chinese vermicelli, bean threads, bean thread noodles and glass noodles. I wonder why it has so many different names. Amongst these names, I like the name of “cellophane noodles” the most because it represents their translucent appearance after being cooked, with a very appealing effect to my eyes when mixed with other salads or meats.

Noodles are often on our family’s menu, whether they are cooked in soup or stir-fried with beef, chicken or pork. For this month’s international incident is to cook noodles, I’d like to create a deviant one for this special occasion. an unusual dish with some usual ingredients.

I made noodles in crisp lettuce cups, alike San Choi Bao that I posted before, yet adding lots of spices into it. Also by tossing in some water chestnuts, celery and baby sweet corns, the smooth cellophane noodles were mixed into a bed of crunchy vegetables. As I expected, this dish was refreshing, full of spices with many flavours.

Spicy Pork Mince and Noodles in Crisp Lettuce Cups (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 75 gm cellophane noodles
• 375 gm ground pork (pork mince)
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp minced ginger
• 1 Tbsp ground bean sauce (磨豉醬), available at Asian stores
• 1 stalk celery, finely chopped
• 70gm water chestnuts (frozen or canned), chopped
• 35 gm baby sweet corns (fresh or canned), thinly sliced
• 2 spring onions (shallot), finely sliced
• a handful of coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 2 Tbsp fish sauce
• 1 1/2 Tbsp lime juice
• sesame oil, to taste
• 1 iceberg lettuce, leaves separated and trimmed into cups
• 1 small red chili (for garnish, optional), seeded and finely chopped

Marinade:

• 2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2 tsp cornflour
• 1 Tbsp water
• pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Mix ground pork with marinade well for 15 minutes. Soak cellophane noodles in boiling water for 10 minutes. Drain well and set aside.
2. In a frying pan or wok, heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat. Saute ginger, garlic and ground bean sauce until aromatic. Add pork and cook for 5 minutes. Stir and separate the pork into smaller pieces if they stick together.
3. Add celery, water chestnuts and baby sweet corns and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes if you’d like crunchy vegetables, or cook longer as desired. But don’t over cook the vegetables. (Note: Water chestnuts can be eaten as raw as fruits. So, you can mix them in after removing from heat if you like.)
4. Remove from heat. Stir in noodles, spring onion and coriander. Season with lime juice, fish sauce and sesame oil. Mix well.
5. To serve, arrange lettuce leaves on plates. Spoon pork and noodles mixture on lettuce cups. Garnish with chopped chilies if desired. Drizzle with chili sauce.

 Other party crews' creations:

• Homemade ban mian with minced pork and mushrooms from Penny's Jeroxie (Addictive & Consuming)
• Ginger scallion & Butter noodles from Mardi's Eat, Live, Travel, Write
• Summer ‘Noodles’ with yellow and green zuchinni with cool basil oil tomato sauce from Trix's Tasty Trix
• Vermicilli Biryani with Tahini from Shirley's Enriching your kid
• Homemade Soba Noodles from Natasha's 5 Star Foodie
• Handpulled noodles at home from Anges's Off the spork
• Coconut noodles with honey glazed pork belly from Cherry's Sweet Cherry Pie
• Fork in the Road: North Platte Noodles from Tracey's Tangled Noodle
• Incidental Noodles from Evelyne 's Cheap Ethnic Eatz
• Zha Jiang Mian from Ms Baklover's Footscray Food Blog
• Tteokbokki from Tamar's Koreanfornian Cooking
• Pumpkin Miso Noodles in Shitake Dashi Broth from Billy's Half-Eaten
• Vietnamese Noodle Salad from Nina's Consumed Food Love
• Twice cooked pork with rice noodles from Suresh 's 3 hungry tummies
• Taco Soba Noodle from Anh's A food Lover’s Journey
• Nonya Curry Laksa from Lori's Wannabe Gourmand
• Fried Noodle Dish from Malou's Skip to Malou
• Noodle Kugels from Joanne's Second Helping

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Fried Wontons - International Dumpling Incident

Another International Incident comes again. In May, we’re throwing a dumplings party. I think this is my last post before I go to Melbourne and Adelaide for holidays. It’s been a long time I haven’t traveled to Melbourne and enjoyed yummy foods there. I’d catch up with all of you whenever I get access on internet.

(Photo credits to gowalkabouttravel.com)

In this International Dumplings Incident, we also celebrate the birthdays of all May babies. Congratulations on Mardi, turning 40 on this special day, Divina Pe, moving to take up a job offer as well Shirley, Pam and Evelyne. All the best wishes to all of them.

My post of this International Dumpling Incident focuses on sharing how to make a popular, famous Chinese snack, deep-fried wontons (jinlu yuntun 錦鹵雲吞), a kind of Cantonese dumplings. Originally, this snack was supposed to use any leftovers you got to cook the sweet and sour sauce. Traditionally, people would add squid/calamari and pork liver, yet I omitted them this time. This traditional snack can hardly be found in Chinese restaurants nowadays. Some old-styled Chinese restaurants might have 錦鹵雲吞 on their menu anyway.

When it comes to cooking 錦鹵雲吞, don’t twist the wonton wrappers to seal the fillings as a parcel, but keep the wonton wrappers as flat as you can. The highlight is the deep-fried, crispy wonton wrapper dipped in the well-balanced sweet and sour sauce, not the filling. So, the fillings are kept to the minimum.

This post seems to be a bit long. But don’t be threatened by its length. The wontons are easy to make and often turned to be kids’ favourite.

Fried Wontons with Sweet & Sour Sauce (錦鹵雲吞) (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 1 packet (about 40 pieces) wonton wrappers (yellow in colour), available at Asian stores
• 130 gm pork mince
• 170 gm prawn/shrimp meat
• water, for wrapping wontons

Marinade for minced pork:

• 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp water

Marinade for prawns:

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• pepper, to taste

Ingredients of sweet and sour sauce:

• 1 onion, cut into small pieces
• 1/2 tsp minced garlic
• 1/2 tsp minced shallot
• 1/2 green capsicum, cut into small pieces
• 3 Tbsp ketchup
• 2 Tbsp white vinegar
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 3 slices pineapple (fresh or canned), cut into small pieces
• 3 to 4 whole prawns/shrimps, with tails intacted
• 4 slices char siu (Chinese BBQ pork)

Thickening:

• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp water

Method of wrapping wontons:

1. Peel and devein prawns, rinse and wipe dry with kitchen papers. Make prawns meat about 170 grams. Cut each into 3 sections if it’s too big. Mix with marinade well.
2. Put marinade into pork and mix well. Add prawn meat and combine. Chill in fridge for 20 minutes, covered with film wrap.
3. When you’re ready for wrapping wontons, prepare some water in a little bowl. Remove the filling from fridge. Use chopsticks or a teaspoon to place one teaspoon of minced pork and prawn filling in the center of each wonton wrapper. Damp the sides of wonton wrappers with water. Fold diagonally and make a triangle shape. (Note: The triangle wontons are quickest and easiest to make, good for deep-frying as well.)

Method of deep-frying wontons:

1. Heat oil to 180C (350F) in a wok or a large saucepan, or until a cube of bread dropped into the oil browns in 15 seconds.
2. Carefully place wontons in batches and deep-fry for 2 to 3 minutes. Lightly press the wontons down, once you place them in the oil, because the wontons float on the surface of oil and won’t be cooked evenly. Stir occasionally, and cook until golden. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Method of cooking sweet and sour sauce for deep-fried wontons:

1. Mix ketchup, white vinegar, sugar, Worcestershire sauce, salt in water.
2. Heat oil in a wok (or frypan). Pan fry the prawns with tails intacted until colour changed. Set aside.
3. Add more oil and sauté the onion over medium heat until translucent. Add garlic and shallot until aromatic. Toss in the capsicum and stir-fry until softened. Pour in ketchup mixture. Bring it to a boil. Add pineapples and BBQ pork lastly. You might like to adjust the taste by adding more sugar or water bit by bit to your liking. Season with salt. Add thickening and cook to your preferred consistency. Transfer into a serving bowl. Arrange prawns on top. Served hot with deep-fried wontons.

Notes:

• Wonton wrappers (雲吞皮) look similar to the dumpling wrappers (餃子皮). The colour of wontons is yellow, whereas dumplings white. Try to buy those good quality wonton wrappers that are made by eggs.
• If you’d like to have wontons in soup, please refer to previous Cantonese wonton soup and cook the soup. 

You might like to wrap the wontons following the method that I shared previously, or adapt this new method of wrapping wontons here. Take a look at this new video of demonstration:

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Baked Pork Chops with Caramelized Onion

When it comes to cooking pork chops, I found them are the best after baking. No other cooking ways can beat it, I believe. No matter what kind of pork chops you have, the heat in the oven can do the best job for you. The heat and long cooking time in the oven will make the pork chops turn to be super tender. Let alone if you use pork loins. The tender pork meat will definitely be a winner in the family. The succulent pork chops sitting on the thick bed of caramelized onions, really attracted the eyes of my family. The taste of the dish was sophisticated as the pork absorbed all the flavours of stock and caramelized onions.

Baked Pork Chops with Caramelized Onion (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 4 pork loin chops, about 760 gm
• 1/2 cup plain flour
• 2 large onions, thinly sliced
• 200 ml chicken stock
• 1 Tbsp butter
• 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp brown sugar, or adjust to your liking
• freshly grated black pepper, to taste
• sea salt, to taste
• water, to be used when cooking onion

Thickening (optional):

• 2 tsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Rinse the pork chops and wipe dry with kitchen papers. Tenderize the pork chops with a tenderizer or the back of a knife. Season with salt and pepper. Lightly coat with plain flour and remove the excess flour.
2. Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Prepare a deep baking pan, lined with greased foil or use a non-stick baking pan for easier cleaning up afterward.
3. Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a skillet, cook the pork chops over medium-high heat until lightly brown. Transfer to baking pan, covered with foil. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Heat 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and butter over medium-low heat. Add onion and cook until soft. Sprinkle salt, pepper. Add brown sugar and stir to combine. Continue to cook until the onion releases its sugar and turns really brown. If the onion is too dry while cooking, add a bit of water, about 1 tablespoon at a time, to keep the onion moist but not too soggy. Remember to taste by yourself and adjust by adding more sugar or salt.
5. Remove the pork chops from oven. Lift up the foil and arrange the onion on the surface of the pork chops. Pour in the stock, covered with foil again. Put back to oven carefully. Bake for another 15 to 20 minutes, letting the pork chops absorb all the flavours of onion and chicken stock.
6. When the pork chops are ready, remove from the oven. Transfer the pork chops on a plate. Drain the sauce from the baking pan with onion through a sieve into a saucepan. Divide and arrange onion on 4 serving platters, each topped with a piece of pork chop. Add vegetables or salad if you like.
7. Bring the sauce in the saucepan to a boil. Add thickening and cook to your liking. If you find the sauce is too thin or too thick, adjust it with stock or thickening. Drizzle the sauce on pork chops. Enjoy!

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Stewed Pork Ribs with Lemon and Champagne

Champagne is one of popular sparkling wines used in occasions of celebrations. Whenever I come across champagne, it reminds me of many good and happy moments. As a matter of fact, it’s seldom used in home cooking. Often times, I like to break the rule of cooking by adding some extraordinary ingredients into an ordinary dish to impress my family. Here comes a humble dish of pork rib stew infused by the sweet fragrance of champagne, with a bit of subtle sourness of lemon. You might have tried the popular Chinese dish, lemon chicken before. Would you like to try this new creation?

Stewed Pork Ribs with Lemon and Champagne (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 580 gm pork ribs
• 1 baby champagne, 200 ml
• 1/2 lemon, sliced
• 1 shallot, minced

Marinade:

• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• A dash of sesame oil
• A pinch of white pepper

Seasoning:

• 1 baby champagne, 200 ml
• 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• salt, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Method:

1. Rinse and wipe dry pork ribs, chop into chunks and mix with marinade well for about 30 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a hotpot (or wok). Add shallot and saute until aromatic. Be sure not to burn it. Add pork ribs and stir fry until colour changed. Pour seasoning over pork ribs, cook until sauce reduces by half. Add lemon slices, continue to cook for a while. Serve hot. Garnish with coriander (cilantro) if you like.

Note:

• The champagne helps tenderize the pork ribs and produces soft and juicy texture. And it goes really well with lemon.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Lemon Pork Loin Chops

You might have tried the popular dish, lemon chicken. So have I. It's my favourite dish too. You can easily find lemon chicken on the menu at any Chinese restaurants. Well, ever tried lemon pork chops? I wasn’t quite sure how the taste it would be like if lemon goes with pork until I experimented cooking the dish the other day. The juicy and tender pork chops, drizzled with sweet and sour lemon sauce on top tasted fantastic and appetizing. As this dish was an experiment, I only cooked two pieces of chops. If you’d like to cook and try how the taste is like, double the size or increase the amount according to your preference.

As the pork chops are to be pan-fried, I find thin pork loin is the best choice for this recipe. Keep the time of frying pork chops as short as you can, to the point that it’s just done so that the meat won’t be too dry.

Lemon Pork Loin Chops (Printable recipe)

Ingredients:

• 2 thin pork loin chops
• 1 tsp crushed garlic
• 1 tsp chopped shallot
• Sesame seeds for garnish (briefly fry on hot pan without oil until aromatic)

Marinade:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp freshly grated ginger sauce
• 1 tsp Shaoxing wine
• a pinch of white pepper
• salt, to taste

Sauce:

• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 75 ml water
• lemon zest, about 1cmx3cm, thinly julienned

Thickening:

• 1 tsp cornflour
• 1 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Rinse pork chops and wipe dry with kitchen papers. Tenderize pork chops with back of chopper. Add crushed garlic and chopped shallot into marinade, then marinate pork chops for 30 minutes.
2. Heat 2 to 3 tablespoons of oil over medium heat. Pan-fry pork chops until both sides are lightly golden and done. Remove from pan and soak up excess oil. Arrange pork chops on a plate, covered.
3. Cook sauce with a little oil until it boils. Add thickening and cook to your preferred consistency. Pour sauce over pork chops and sprinkle fried sesame. Garnish with lemon slices if you like. Serve hot.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/

Spicy Eggplants with Minced Pork in Clay Pot

This popular Chinese dish, Spicy Eggplants with Minced Pork (魚香茄子) is always in our family’s menu. Although I can easily get very big eggplants here, when it comes to cooking this dish, I like to use the smaller ones, purple in colour, with a slim and long shape as well as soft skin. Having said that, no matter what kind of eggplants you choose, this dish would definitely be delicious. The spongy texture of eggplant absorbs all the flavours and sauce, giving you a heavenly taste. Some people might not like its bitter taste. But if the sliced eggplants are rinsed with salty water before cooking, this step will help remove much of the bitterness. More importantly, the eggplants should be cooked thoroughly.

Ingredients:

• 450 gm eggplant
• 170 gm minced pork
• 1/2 Tbsp ginger, finely chopped
• 1 Tbsp minced shallot
• 1 Tbsp garlic, crushed
• 1 Tbsp chili bean sauce (available at Asian stores)
• water, adjust while cooking

Marinade:

• 1 1/2 tsp light soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 1/2 tsp cornflour
• 1/2 tsp vegetable oil
• 2 tsp water
• pepper, to taste

Seasoning:

• 1 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 tsp dark soy sauce
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 tsp oyster sauce
• 2 tsp water
• sesame oil, to taste
• pepper, to taste

Thickening:

• 1 tsp cornflour
• 2 Tbsp water

Method:

1. Rinse eggplant. Trim and julienne as picture shown. Soak in water with a bit of salt dissolved for a while. Drain well. Marinate pork mince for 20 minutes.
2. Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a clay pot over medium. Sauté half of the minced garlic, shallot, ginger and chili bean sauce. Add eggplant and stir fry constantly. Also add hot water bit by bit all the way of stir frying. Don’t add too much water at a time, just add small amount to avoid burning or sticking to the bottom of clay pot. Coat the eggplant with sauce evenly, then add some boiling water to simmer until eggplants softened.
3. While stir frying the eggplant, use another frying pan to heat some cooking oil. Add another half of minced garlic, shallot, ginger and chili bean sauce until aromatic. Add pork and stir fry until cooked.
4. When the eggplant is softened, toss the minced pork in clay pot. Stir fry quickly. Turn heat to medium. Add seasoning and continue to cook. Bring it to boil. Add thickening to your preference. Serve hot.

Note:

• It’s not necessary to soak the julienned eggplant in water with salt. But this step would help to remove its bitterness and keep its purple colour fresh from cooking. Or simply peel off the skin instead.

©2026 Christine's Recipes - https://en.christinesrecipes.com/