Recipes

Recipe: Marinated Grilled Pork and Eggplant

This smoky-sweet grilled pork and eggplant dish ratchets up the flavour with two marinades – first garlic and ginger and then hoisin and tamari

By Nettie Cronish /

Credit: Pat Crocker

Dress up your pork chops with marinated eggplant

This smoky-sweet grilled pork and eggplant dish ratchets up the flavour with two marinades – first garlic and ginger and then hoisin and tamari

The eggplant can be prepared and served separately as a light meal, or for those who don’t eat red meat. Top with fresh salsa for extra zip.

Ingredients

  • 5 tbsp (75 ml) roasted peanut oil
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tbsp (30 ml) minced fresh ginger
  • 3 tbsp (45 ml) hoisin sauce
  • 3 tbsp (45 ml) tamari or soy sauce
  • 3 green onions, thinly sliced
  • 3 to 5 oz (90 to 150 g) boneless pork loin chop
  • 2 lb (1 kg) eggplant, peeled and cut crosswise into ½-inch (1 cm) slices
  • ¼ cup (60 ml) sesame seeds

Instructions

  1. Line rimmed baking sheets with parchment or waxed paper.
  2. Preheat a grill to medium-high or heat a grill pan on the stove over medium-high heat.
  3. Combine oil, garlic and ginger in a small bowl. Combine hoisin sauce, tamari and green onions in a separate small bowl. Set bowls aside.
  4. Place pork chop between sheets of plastic wrap on a cutting board. Pound, using a meat pounder or rolling pin, until about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Brush both sides of chop with oil mixture and lie flat on a baking sheet. Let stand 5 minutes.
  5. Brush both sides of eggplant slices with oil mixture and lie flat on a baking sheet.  
  6. Cook eggplant slices and pork chop on grill or grill pan for 5 minutes, then turn and cook on other side for 3 to 5 minutes.
  7. Remove eggplant. Check if pork is done; internal temperature should be 160 F (71 C) and internal colour should have changed to white with traces of pink in the centre.
  8. Place grilled eggplant on a serving dish. Baste cooked eggplant slices with hoisin mixture.
  9. Cut pork chop into thin strips and toss with remaining hoisin mixture, then transfer to serving dish. Sprinkle with sesame seeds and serve immediately.

Serves 6

Recipe and photo from Everyday Flexitarian by Nettie Cronish and Pat Crocker. Published by Whitecap Books Ltd., ©2011. Reprinted with permission of the publisher.