Vegetables Stuffed With Meat Filling

When my Piggies are back , I will be either busy cooking in the kitchen making their favourite dishes for dinner or busy baking away….and a cuppa of hot green tea with some cookies to soothe the tired soul :p

They asked for this special dish - vegetables stuffed with meat filling enhanced by rich aromatic fermented soybeans gravy..Mmmmm I too loved this dish…it's been a long time since we had this for dinner. So, stuffed bitter gourd, aubergine, long fresh red chillies, firm texture brown tofu and shiitake made up this delicious and appetizing dish. The filling being minced pork, fish paste, dried shrimps and chopped spring onions with added corn starch powder , mixed together and stirred until a thick and sticky paste is formed. The preparation is simple and the end result belies it :))

Lightly fried them in hot oil till they are cooked for extra fragrance and dressed in a delightful aromatic gravy made of fermented soybeans, salted black beans and garlic. This is the family favourite dish :) I think , if I am not mistaken this dish is famous among Chinese families in Asia. They even served them as a dim sum delicacy in some dim sum restaurant :) but I served them as a veggie dish for dinner :p

yummilicious stuffed veggies and shiitake :)

not to forget firm brown tofu....everyone's favourite

and those pungent hot red chillies yumm yumm......

yumm yummm yummy........

filled our stomachs to satisfaction! :))))

Vegetables Stuffed With Meat Filling

Vegetable Ingredients
1 bitter gourd
1 aubergine
2 firm brown tofu
8 pieces of dried shiitake mushrooms – soaked and cut off stem
5 fresh red chillies

Meat Filling

300 gm minced pork
500 gm fish paste
100 gm dried shrimps- soaked and chopped
some chopped spring onions
1 tbsp corn flour

Gravy
2 tbsp of fermented soybeans- chopped fine
½ tbsp of salted black beans
some chopped garlic

1 tsp of thick soysauce
½ tbsp of sugar

Thickening
1 tbsp of corn flour mixed with 3 tbsp of water

Preparation:

Mix all the meat filling ingredients together and stirs with a pair of chopsticks till all the ingredients become a sticky paste. Leave aside.

Cut the bitter gourd and aubergine into ½” thick slices. Remove seeds from the bitter gourd.

Cut a slit through the chillies length wise and remove all the seeds.

Cut tofu diagonally and on each triangle cut a slit.

Soak the dried shiitake till soft and remove the stem.

Stuff all the cut vegetables with the meat filling. Apply some corn flour on the surface of the meat filling before putting them in hot oil and fry till cooked. Dish up and place them in paper towels to absorb the oil from the fried stuffed vegetables.

Meanwhile , heat up the wok with 1 tbsp of oil and put in all the gravy ingredients except the thick soysauce, sugar and thickening and sauté till fragrant. Add in 2 cups of water and simmer till it boils. Add in the thick soysauce , sugar and thickening When the gravy has thicken, add in all the stuffed fried vegetables into the gravy. When it boils, off the fire and dish up and garnish with some chopped spring onions.

Enjoy!

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