Pour the vegetable oil in a large non-stick pan. Add half of the soy sauce, a pinch of garlic powder, half of the chili sauce and half of the fish sauce. Place the pan over medium-high heat.

Stir well. Once the oil and sauces start to simmer, add the ground pork.

Stir well and cook the pork mince for 4 to 5 minutes until a little browned and cooked through.

Then transfer the mince to a clean plate and put it aside until needed later on. Leave the remaining soy sauce mixture in the pan. Slice and chop the eggplant into thick sticks and add it to the pan.

Pour in ¾ cup (180 ml) of the beef stock and add the sesame oil (optional), the rest of the soy sauce, fish sauce and chili sauce.

Don’t stir the eggplant but put a lid on the pan and cook the eggplant for 7 to 8 minutes until very soft. The beef stock should have disappeared more or less.

Then pour in the rest of the beef stock.

Shake the pan and transfer the cooked eggplant to a large serving bowl. Add the cooked for mince to the pan again.

Stir the mince, turn the heat off and check the seasoning. Add extra hot chili sauce, soy sauce or fish sauce to taste if necessary.

Pour the pork mince and remaining sauce over the eggplant. Serve hot.