Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook Time: 25 mins | Yield: 2-3 servings
October is Filipino American History Month. Passed by the US Congress in 2009, it's a month-long celebration in October meant to commemorate and appreciate the Filipino experience throughout American history. Filipinos have been a part of American history dating back to Filipinos' first landing in modern-day Morro Bay in October of 1587. That's right, 1587.
In honor of this special month, I'll be sharing a new Filipino recipe each week, highlighting the simplest, most basic, yet nostalgic recipes for me. We're starting off with tortang talong, an eggplant omelet that reminds me of hot and humid summer days in the Philippines. We often ate this as an easy lunch with rice, but it can be eaten as breakfast, lunch, dinner, or even as a snack! The hardest part is grilling or roasting the eggplant, but it's a very straightforward dish. Enjoy!
Ingredients
2 large Japanese eggplant
2 eggs
5 cloves garlic
2 tablespoon vegetable oil
Instructions
Preheat grill to medium heat.
Prep the eggplants by using a pastry brush or paper towel to spread half the vegetable oil on the eggplants. This will ensure your eggplants don't stick to the grill.
Place eggplants and garlic cloves both with skin on directly on the grill. Roast for 20 minutes, about 10 minutes each side. Alternatively, you can roast in an oven set to 375°F for the same amount of time, also flipping halfway through.
Once the skin of the eggplants have a nice char and the vegetable is soft and pliable, it can be removed from the grill. Let rest to cool about 10 minutes.
Peel both the eggplants and garlic. Make sure to leave the stem of the eggplant in tact.
Heat up a large frying pan over medium heat and use left over vegetable oil to coat the bottom of the pan.
Using a fork or similar tool, smash the peeled roasted garlic into the eggplants, using half on each eggplant. Continue smashing until the eggplants are no more than half an inch thick.
Beat the eggs in a separate shallow dish and season with salt and pepper.
Dip the eggplant on the egg mixture holding it by the stem and coating the entire vegetable up to the edge of the stem. Place on the pan to fry. You can pour the rest of the egg mixture into the pan. Fry each side until the eggs are cooked, about two minutes each side.
Serve with rice and your favorite dipping sauce. Enjoy!