Steps

1. In a bowl, add thinly sliced pork 250g. Mix in the marinade ingredients: salt 1/4 tsp, grated ginger 1 clove, potato starch 2 tbsp, and egg 1. Mix well. (Key Tip!) Adding egg results in a juicy and moist texture.
   🕒 00:52
2. Using the flatter parts of the pork, shape the meat into bite-sized balls, enclosing the pork. (Key Tip!) Enclosing the pork helps to lock in the flavor and keep it juicy.
   🕒 01:39
3. Heat a small amount of vegetable oil in a frying pan. Add the rolled pork balls and pan-fry until golden brown. (Key Tip!) Once browned, roll them around to ensure they cook through.
   🕒 02:04
4. Remove the pan-fried pork balls from the oil and drain any excess oil.
   🕒 03:22
5. Cut onion 1/4 into 3cm cubes.
   🕒 03:24
6. Cut eggplant 1-2 into bite-sized, irregular pieces. (Key Tip!) If the eggplant's bitterness is a concern, soak it in water and pat it dry.
   🕒 03:40
7. In the same frying pan with the remaining oil from the pork, quickly pan-fry the cut onion and eggplant. (Key Tip!) Pan-frying the vegetables in the oil that rendered from the pork enhances their flavor.
   🕒 03:50
8. Once the vegetables have a nice color, remove them from the oil and drain.
   🕒 04:41
9. Wipe off any excess oil from the frying pan. In a bowl, mix together the sweet and sour sauce ingredients: cooking sake (rice wine) 2 tbsp, sugar 2 tbsp, water 4 tbsp, ketchup 2 tbsp, soy sauce 4 tsp, vinegar 2 tbsp, and grated ginger 1 clove.
   🕒 05:02
10. Pour the mixed sweet and sour sauce into the frying pan and bring it to a simmer.
    🕒 05:44
11. Once the sauce simmers, turn off the heat. Mix potato starch 1/3 tsp with water 1 tsp to create a slurry, then add it to the sauce and mix well. (Key Tip!) If the sauce is too hot, the starch can clump. Add the potato starch slurry after turning off the heat.
    🕒 06:04
12. Reheat the sauce and stir until it thickens.
    🕒 06:26
13. Add the pan-fried pork balls to the thickened sweet and sour sauce and coat them thoroughly.
    🕒 05:57
14. Once the pork balls are coated, add the drained pan-fried vegetables. Toss everything together briefly to combine and serve. (Key Tip!) Coat the pork balls first, then lightly toss the vegetables to maintain their vibrant color.
    🕒 06:58