Balado terong (eggplant in spicy red sauce)
Balado terong (also belado terong, terong blado) is an Indonesian recipe of eggplant in red sauce. It is a vegetarian side dish that is often part of an Indonesian rice table. If you make balado terong yourself, then eat it with rice or nasi goreng, possibly supplemented with green salad or a protein source. The sauce of balado terong is spicy. In Indonesia they call this homemade sambal. That may sound complicated, because we like to buy sambal in jars in Europe, but it is actually just a mixture of onion, tomato, red pepper and spices. The blender makes it easy for you in this recipe.
Pro tip: the lime leaves are optional, because you might have to go to a specialist shop for this, but they are actually indispensable for the taste. They make the sauce. So if you can manage it for a while, make sure you can get lime leaves out of the freezer!
This is how you make it
- Cut the aubergine into 2x2 cm cubes.
- Put 10 tbsp oil in a frying pan or wok. Bake the eggplant for 3-5 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
- Clean the shallots, chili peppers, garlic and lemongrass and cut into pieces, along with the tomatoes. This doesn’t have to be nice, because it will go straight into the blender.
- Fry in a generous amount of oil (think 5 tablespoons)
- 3 minutes on.
- Grind the chili mixture in the blender (without the eggplant).
- Return to the pan and turn the heat to medium-high. Joint
- Add the fried aubergine and the rest of the ingredients to the mixture.
- Let it reduce on medium heat for 25-30 minutes (can also be longer on low heat), until the sauce binds more to the aubergine.
- Serve with rice or nasi goreng and a salad and/or fried tempeh.
- Do not eat the lime leaves.
