← Nouns Cooking · Indonesian & Filipino

Ingredients

• 600 g long Asian aubergines, cut into 6 cm lengths, then quartered lengthways
• 6 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 100 g large red chillies, roughly chopped
• 2 Bird's eye chilli (optional)
• 100 g Shallot, peeled
• 3 cloves Garlic
• 1 Tomato, quartered
• 3 Makrut (kaffir) lime leaves
• 1 tbsp palm sugar or brown sugar
• 1 tsp Salt
• 1 tbsp lime juice

Method

1. Pat the aubergine dry. Heat 4 tbsp of the oil in a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat and fry the aubergine in two batches for 4–5 min each, turning, until soft and golden. Drain on paper.
2. Pulse the chillies, shallots, garlic and tomato in a blender to a coarse paste.
3. Heat the remaining oil in the wok over medium heat. Fry the paste with the lime leaves for 8–10 min, stirring often, until it darkens to a deep red, thickens and the oil begins to separate.
4. Stir in the sugar, salt and lime juice, then fold in the aubergine for 1–2 min until coated. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Tips

• For a lighter version, steam the aubergine for 8–10 minutes instead of frying it.
• The same balado sauce is wonderful over halved hard-boiled eggs (telur balado) or fried prawns.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Daily Cooking Quest What To Cook Today