Tender Eggplant Rice
Simple Dinner Menu: Baek Jong-won Style Flavorful Eggplant Rice with Seasoning Sauce (One-Bowl Meal)
These days, the market is brimming with fresh seasonal vegetables, making browsing enjoyable and prices more affordable. Eggplant, pumpkin, and cucumber are especially prominent, and since I love them all, I tend to buy them every time I visit. My husband likes eggplant dishes, so I initially bought them to make a seasoned salad or something similar, but then I suddenly craved eggplant rice! So, I postponed the eggplant dish for another day and made a simple yet delicious eggplant rice for dinner. It’s a satisfying one-bowl meal that requires no side dishes, and its simple preparation makes it perfect for busy evenings!
Rice Ingredients- 2 fresh eggplants
- 1 stalk of green onion or scallion
- 2 cups of short-grain rice
- 170ml of water (less than usual)
- 250g of ground pork
- 3 Tbsp canola oil
- 2 Tbsp cooking wine (mirin)
- Pinch of black pepper
- 1 Tbsp perilla oil
- 4 Tbsp soy sauce for seasoned dishes (guk-ganjang or jin-ganjang)
Flavorful Seasoning Sauce- 4 Tbsp soy sauce for seasoned dishes
- 0.5 Tbsp fine gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
- 1 Tbsp coarse gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
- 0.5 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- A little finely chopped green onion
- A little sesame seeds
- 4 Tbsp soy sauce for seasoned dishes
- 0.5 Tbsp fine gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
- 1 Tbsp coarse gochugaru (Korean chili powder)
- 0.5 Tbsp minced garlic
- 1 Tbsp sesame oil
- A little finely chopped green onion
- A little sesame seeds
Cooking Instructions
Step 1
First, wash the eggplants thoroughly under running water. Trim off the stems, then cut each eggplant in half lengthwise. After that, slice them into half-moon shapes, about 1.5 to 2 cm thick, for easy eating. Slicing them to an appropriate thickness is important; if they are too thin, they might become mushy when cooked with the rice.
Step 2
Finely chop the green onions. These will be used for both the stir-fry and the seasoning sauce.
Step 3
Rinse the rice until the water runs clear. It’s crucial to measure the water correctly for cooking the rice. Since eggplants release moisture, the rice can become watery. Therefore, use slightly less water than you normally would. I used 170ml of water for 2 cups of rice, and it cooked perfectly without being soggy. The exact amount of water might need adjustment based on your rice cooker and the type of rice.
Step 4
Heat 3 tablespoons of canola oil in a pan over low heat. Add the chopped green onions and sauté them gently to create fragrant green onion oil. Be careful not to burn the green onions by cooking on high heat. Sauté until the raw smell disappears and a pleasant aroma emerges.
Step 5
Once the green onion aroma is fragrant, add the ground pork to the pan. Pour in 2 tablespoons of cooking wine (mirin) and sprinkle with a pinch of black pepper. Increase the heat to medium and stir-fry the pork, breaking up any clumps, until evenly cooked. I used the entire 250g pack of ground pork I had. If you prefer, you can use about 100-150g for a 2-person serving.
Step 6
When the pork is about 90% cooked, push the meat to one side of the pan. Pour 3-4 tablespoons of soy sauce for seasoned dishes into the empty space and let it bubble slightly. Boiling the soy sauce will enhance its flavor.
Step 7
Once the soy sauce starts to simmer, add the sliced eggplants. Gently mix them with the pork and soy sauce, allowing the eggplant to absorb the flavors. Stir-fry briefly just enough for the soy sauce to coat the eggplant without making it overly soft.
Step 8
Now, prepare to cook the rice. Place the rinsed rice in your rice cooker. Add 1 tablespoon of perilla oil and mix lightly. Then, top the rice with the stir-fried eggplant and pork mixture. Press the ‘cook’ button on your rice cooker. My rice cooker has a ‘Gamasot-bap’ (cast iron pot rice) setting, which made the rice incredibly delicious! You can also use the regular ‘cook’ function.
Step 9
While the rice is cooking, let’s make the seasoning sauce. In a bowl, combine 4 tablespoons of soy sauce for seasoned dishes, 0.5 tablespoon of fine gochugaru, 1 tablespoon of coarse gochugaru, 0.5 tablespoon of minced garlic, and 1 tablespoon of sesame oil. Add a little finely chopped green onion and sesame seeds, then mix well. Your appetizing seasoning sauce is ready!
Step 10
After about 40 minutes, your delicious eggplant rice is ready! Serve the flavorful rice topped with the cooked eggplant and pork. Drizzle the seasoning sauce over it and mix everything together for an incredibly tasty meal. Each grain of rice is infused with the flavors of eggplant and pork. Using the ‘Gamasot-bap’ setting on my pressure cooker resulted in tender eggplant that blended beautifully with the rice. The slight crust formed at the bottom added a nutty flavor, making the meal even richer. Mix gently to combine everything and enjoy your meal!
