There is a reason why it took me over 3 years before an eggplant recipe appears on Rasa Malaysia. I am confused; first by its many names and secondly, by its different varieties, shapes, colors, and forms.
According to Wikipedia, eggplant is probably the most common name and it’s used in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. In British English, it’s called aubergine (heck, I don’t even know how to pronounce it!). In India and South Africa, it’s brinjal. (How can a plant so pretty with such intense purple color so confused with its name–or errr, its given names?) Now, let me confuse you even more–in Malay, it’s called terung…
There are different types of eggplant–Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Thai, Italian, American, white eggplant, etc., and each variety is unique in its own sense. Regardless of its varieties and different names, eggplant is a superb ingredient that I have come to love a lot.
Anyway, I got these cute and adorable Indian eggplants–some as small as a grape–and stir-fried them with sambal, like I did with my sambal asparagus recipe. It’s one of the most common recipes for eggplant in Malaysia. You can also roast them in oven.
Below is my sambal eggplant recipe for your reference. You can use any eggplant/aubergine/brinjal available in your market, but ultimately, timing matters most. You want to achieve that perfect, moist, and tender texture.
Ingredients:
6 oz. eggplant (I used Indian eggplant)
1 1/2 tablespoons dried shrimps (soaked in warm water and then rinsed)
1 1/2 – 2 tablespoons sambal paste (if you like spicy, use 2 tablespoons)
1/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon fish sauce or to taste
2 tablespoons oil
Method:
Rinse the eggplant with water and cut into halves. Soak them in salt water to prevent turning brown color.
Heat up the wok with oil. Add dried shrimps and sambal (recipe below) and stir-fry until aromatic, then follow by the eggplant. (Transfer the eggplant out of the water before adding to the wok). Continue to stir-fry until eggplant become soft but not overly soft. Add fish sauce and sugar to taste, dish out and serve hot.
Sambal (Chili Paste) Recipe:
20 dried chilies (seeded and soaked to soften)
10 fresh red chilies (seeded and sliced)
8 shallots (peeled and chopped)
4 cloves garlic (peeled and chopped)
6 tablespoons cooking oil
Method:
Use a mortar and pestle to pound the sambal ingredients or use a mini food processor to blend well. Heat up a wok with oil. As soon as the oil is heated, transfer the sambal paste into the wok and stir-fry continuously for a few minutes or until you smell the heat from the sambal or the oil separates from the sambal. Dish out and set aside. Refrigerated for future use.
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Definitely a fave of mine, too, growing up as a Malaysian!!! Thanks for sharing!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
PL – coolio. :)
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a favourite vege dish if i eat mix rice (somehow a staple dish in all mix rice stalls whether its chinese, malay or indian)
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Yes, but the Chinese mix rice stalls always overcook them, don’t you think? They look so unappetizing sometimes.
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Hi Bee,
My goodness ! They looked more like grapes to me. Over here in Australia, we, too, have mini ones but even then, they are much bigger.
As an alternative, to get that “smokey” flavour, may I suggest that you place the bigger ones over the fire until the skin burnt. Cool and peel the skin off and cut them into thick slices. Fry the sambal separately and then stir in the egg plants. Adjust flavour to your taste. It is equally yummy !!!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Pinenuts – yes, they are so tiny and cute. I love them, and yes, small ones are like grapes!
Oooh, your tip sounds great, I will have to try it out. I must confess, I am not an eggplant expert. :P
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In the Philippines we call it talong :) I love it and am always looking for new ways to prepare them…this one looks delicious!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Joey, talong sounds like terung. That’s great. LOL.
I don’t know that many eggplant recipes to tell you the truth but this one is a keeper. :)
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This is one of my favourite vegetables. Thank you for sending in this recipe !!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Hi Elizabeth – great, now you can try this sambal eggplant recipe!
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definitely my fav dish… a must have whenever i’m back home… my mom would fry the egplants and dried anchovies(ikan bilis) separately…. arrange the anchovies on the eggplants on a plate and pour the sambal over them…ahhh.. returning home this weekend and expecting some of it to break my fast!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Cimee – that’s such a great idea. I will have to try it out. I love fried anchovies.
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I love this vegetable: there are so many delicious recipes of eggplant. I’ve found whites ones in Greece, and eated a delicious moussaka! I’ve two eggplants in my oven for tomorow, with olive oil and garlic, cooking slowly… Delicious!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Dominique, oooh, your olive oil and garlic roasted eggplant sounds absolutely delish. Yummy!
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This is one of my fav and is a must-order if I do need to order from the mixed rice stall. I detest this when I was young and only liked this after growing up.
The best egg plant dish I had was at somewhere near Genting Highlands I think. It’s a village with many chinese restaurants at the highlands where they deep fried this with mini shrimps (heh bii). That was wonderful!
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Thanks for the mention Bee. I must agree with Pinenuts that they look like grapes! Anyway, have a splendid time in Maui :D
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The brinjals are SO cute! I haven’t seen such small ones before. Cooking them with sambal is just delicious.
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Lovely recipe!! Used balacan instead of the dried shrimps though. Reminded me of the memorable visits to Singapore!!!!
Do you have the yummy recipes for potato and soy curry and the normal stir fry veggie soup with just salt and pepper???
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yea it’s really confusing, I used to call this brinjal, but here in the UK it’s aubergine. I thought they were different species because of their shape but turns out they are the same! These are really cute, I’ve never seen such tiny ones before.Do they taste different?
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The sambal is definitely a pull here but try as I might, I would not be able to eat the eggplant :(
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Am a NKOB here. Loved Sambal Terung. In fact, loved anything that has got to do with sambal e.g. Sambal Kangkung, Sambal Bendi, Sambal Kacang Botol, Sambal Petai and etc…
Keep up the good work!!!
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It’s so cute, little eggplants…I love this veg…my mother makes a dish with fish and eggplants…just tasteful.
Paula Pacheco
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I’ve always been lukewarm about eggplant, until I bought some Indian eggplant this week! These babies don’t have the bitterness associated with the large eggplant, and they take to a spicy seasoning (like the sambal you have here) so well! This looks delicious, and I’m sure to make it soon!
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Alta – yes, they taste great.
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I love this!!! Sambal terung is one of the reasons why I keep going back to Banana Leaf in Vancouver, I just can’t get enough of it. Thank you for posting this recipe, I will try making this on the weekend.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Cool – let me know how it goes.
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Love eggplant/aubergine, big and small, long and round. thanks for the great recipe.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Yes, but this Indian eggplant is just too pleasing to the eyes. :)
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I must say that eggplant is not a vege that’s easy to master to perfection. But your creation looks perfect, thanks for sharing. And this would definitely make a great vegetarian dish.
Oo and i’ve always wondered why my eggplant turned brown everytime i make them. Now i know the secret to it, soak them in salt! I shall remember that.
cheers to more eggplant dishes!
Ps: Aubergine sounds so chic
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Seriously, it’s hard to cook. Yes, salt makes it look fresh.
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It’s called aubergine in French and Danish as well. I love this dish.
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All I can say is… YUMMMMMMM-O!!! :) Thanks for sharing.
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Rasa Malaysia replied:
Thanks.
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