Spicy Eggplant

Name: Spicy Eggplant (Terung Balado)
Yield: Makes 4 servings as part of a multicourse meal
Cuisine: Mexican
Ingredients: 4 medium-hot finger-length red chilies, such as Fresno, cayenne, or serrano, seeded (optional) and chopped, or 2 tablespoons sambal oelek; 4 medium-hot finger-length red chilies, such as Fresno, cayenne, or serrano, seeded (optional) and chopped, or 2 tablespoons sambal oelek; 4 medium-hot finger-length red chilies, such as Fresno, cayenne, or serrano, seeded (optional) and chopped, or 2 tablespoons sambal oelek; 4 medium-hot finger-length red chilies, such as Fresno, cayenne, or serrano, seeded (optional) and chopped, or 2 tablespoons sambal oelek; 4 medium-hot finger-length red chilies, such as Fresno, cayenne, or serrano, seeded (optional) and chopped, or 2 tablespoons sambal oelek; 2 red bird’s eye chilies or Thai chilies, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (optional); 2 red bird’s eye chilies or Thai chilies, stemmed, seeded, and chopped (optional); 1 small red bell pepper, chopped; 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, plus more for greasing and drizzling, divided; 1 lb (450 g) Chinese eggplant or Japanese eggplant, cut into 2-inch (5-cm) batons and patted dry; 1 lb (450 g) Chinese eggplant or Japanese eggplant, cut into 2-inch (5-cm) batons and patted dry; 1 teaspoon coriander seeds or ground coriander; 1 teaspoon coriander seeds or ground coriander; 4 small Asian shallots or 2 large European shallots, chopped; 4 small Asian shallots or 2 large European shallots, chopped; 2 cloves garlic, smashed; Juice of 1 key lime; 2 teaspoons sugar; 1 large tomato, chopped; 1 stalk lemongrass, trimmed and bruised; 1 (½-inch/12-mm) slice galangal; 4 makrut lime leaves; 1 teaspoon fine sea salt

Terung Balado

Preparation info

Makes
4
servings as part of a multicourse meal

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Mortar and Pestle

By Patricia Tanumihardja

Published 2024

About

The spicy sauce in this recipe is technically a sambal, and this dish is a great example of how versatile a sambal can be! It’s not just a condiment but can be used as a flavoring paste as well. While you can cook many foods the “balado” way, eggplant is my favorite. I try to use Asian varieties of eggplant, which contain fewer seeds than Italian globe eggplants and are less bitter. Chinese (light purple) or Japanese (dark purple) eggplant have thin skins and don’t necessarily have to be sa

Ingredients

Asia
Americas
Mexico
Indonesia
Condiment
Dinner
Gluten-free
Vegan
Spicy
South East Asia
Central America

Ingredients

Method