Terong Balado (Spicy eggplant): Being Indonesian means – part 2

... continued from here

Being Indonesian means…

You can never make up your mind when ordering in restaurants, so you just order everything and end up with too much food.

See, what people don’t understand is when one grows up having a rijsttafel (rice table) at every meal, it’s hard to pick ONE main dish per meal. A rice table is when you eat rice with multiple options of side dishes (‘lauk pauk’), anywhere between 3 (typical lunch) to 40 (a feast).

Rice cooker is a primary appliance in your kitchen.

If you can’t find your favourite brand you bring it directly from Indonesia, forgoing your luggage allowance to make room for the precious rice cooker. Unfortunately we don't have room for one in our kitchen, so I have had to learn the method of perfecting the pan-cooked rice...

The smell of shrimp paste is not offensive to you

To those who don’t like it, it might be as disgusting as marmite and vegemite. Admittedly, I store mine in an airtight container, wrapped in plastic, in the back of the fridge. So yes, the raw version doesn't have the nicest smell. But really, it is gold as a cooking spice! Use it in curries and stir fries to give the dishes a tangy kick.

In the spirit of my epiphany, this is another favourite Indonesian recipe. It’s a simple grilled eggplant dish topped with balado sauce. It looks a lot more evil and spicy than it actually tastes because of the colour. But (at least the version I make) has a more sweet and sour taste.

Terong Balado (Spicy eggplant)

Serves 4 as a side dish in an Indonesian rijsttafel / rice table (try other Indonesian recipes here).

Ingredients

1 large tomato, diced into small pieces

1 clove of garlic, minced

3 shallots, sliced thinly

2 birds eye chili, deseeded and sliced thinly

2 tablespoons white vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

1 large eggplant, sliced to 1cm thickness

Oil to fry and grill (I prefer sunflower oil)

Method

Prepare the eggplant. Spray a grill pan with oil, grill eggplant for 5-8 minutes or until soft.

Prepare the spicy sauce. Heat a glug of oil in a frying pan over medium – high heat. Fry the garlic, chilli and shallots until fragrant. Add the tomato, white vinegar and sugar. Stir the sauce mix and cook until the tomatoes slightly break apart (about 3-4 minutes). Pour the sauce over the grilled eggplant slices. Serve immediately with steaming hot white rice.