Sambal Eggplant

Added by: Norah Added on: October 18, 2019

Norah's Cooking Diary

Sambal Eggplant

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In this video I am going to share with you a Sambal Eggplant Recipe.

Creamy fried eggplant coated with fragrant dried shrimp sauce with a hint of spiciness is super delicious.

Sambal Eggplant is a well-loved dish in Malaysia and Indonesia that is also super easy to prepare. This dish is the perfect dish that can be served as a side dish or a main dish over a warm bed of rice.

Happy cooking 😉

Several notes here to share with you:

I used Baby Eggplants in this recipe. You could use any types of eggplants that you prefer.
I used 1 tbsp of Sambal Oelek in this recipe. You could use other types of chili paste that you prefer and increase or decrease the quantity according to your heat tolerance.
I used Lime in this recipe. You could use lemon or calamansi whichever is available to you.

Here is a quick rundown of the recipe:

Ingredients for Sambal Eggplant

6 Eggplants
4 Bulbs Shallots
5 Cloves Garlic
±50 Gm Dried Shrimp
±20 Gm Shrimp Paste
1 Tbsp Sambal Oelek
Lime Juice from 2 limes (±70 gm each)
2 Tsp Fish Sauce
2 Tbsp Sugar
¾ Cup Plain Water
2 Cups Cooking Oil

Method of Preparation

Soaked dried shrimp with hot water until they are softened. Finely mince garlics, shallots and the softened dried shrimps prepared earlier. Cut and discard the eggplant’s head and cut the eggplants to approximately 6cm length. Then cut into half for each of the cut eggplants.
Heat up 2 cups of oil in a frying pan over HIGH heat until the oil is very HOT. Deep fry the eggplants in batches until they are golden. Reduce heat to LOW and remove the oil in the pan with a ladle leaving ¼ cup of oil in the frying pan. Add the minced shallots, garlics and dried shrimps into the pan and stir fry over MEDIUM heat until they are drier. Constantly stir fry the mixture to avoid from burning. Add shrimp paste and sambal oelek to the pan and stir fry the mixture for 1 to 2 mins. Constantly stir fry the mixture to avoid from burning. Pour plain water into the pan and stir the mixture for another 1 min. Add lime juice, fish sauce and sugar to the pan and stir the mixture to mix well. Simmer the mixture over MEDIUM heat until most of the liquid has evaporated. Frequently stir the mixture to avoid burning the bottom.
Once the mixture has thickened reduce heat to LOW and add the fried eggplants to the pan. Gently push and flip the mixture carefully not to break the eggplants. Simmer the mixture for 2 mins over LOW heat or until the oil starts to separate. Shake the pan frequently to avoid from burning the bottom. Do not stir the mixture or the eggplants will break and become mushy. When the oil starts to separate, the Sambal Eggplant is now ready to be served.
Sprinkle lime zest over the Sambal Eggplant for that extra flavor and garnish with sliced red chilies to beautify.

Happy cooking 😉🧡