How to make spicy, Indonesian-style Sambal Balado Eggplant.
Today we’re making an easy vegetable dish – sambal terong balado. Or spicy, Indonesian style Balado Eggplant. This is one of my favourite ways of cooking vegetables and this is so good over rice.
Cooking the Eggplants
The eggplants are typically fried in oil first, but I much prefer steaming it. You get the same taste and texture as if it were fried… and it is slightly healthier. I also get to save on oil.
Vegetables
Eggplant is most commonly used for Balado, but you most certainly can use other vegetables too.
I would recommend vegetables that are more “hard”, the leafy ones tend to soak up a lot of the grease and spice, so it’s not so fun to eat.
In the non-eggplant version I have zucchinis, okra or lady fingers, baby corn and some cauliflower. Same as the eggplants, I steamed them first.
Ingredients
- 2 Medium Eggplants
- other vegetables used: zucchini, okra, baby corn, cauliflower
- Sambal Balado Sauce
- 1 Tomato
- 2-3 Fresh Red Chillies
- 2-3 Shallots or 1/2 an Onion
- 1-2 Cloves garlic
- 1 tsp sugar
- 1 tsp salt
Directions
- Steam eggplants, or vegetable of choice. 15 minutes should be more than adequate time to cook eggplants till soft.
- Prepare Balado sauce. Rough chop ingredients, or give it a rough blitz in a food processor.
- In a pan, heat up some oil.
- Once hot, toss in the balado mince, and stirfry.
- Stirfry until it’s fragrant, or until the onions turn translucent and then toss in your eggplants.
- Season with salt and sugar.
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