Filipino Tortang Talong (eggplant omelette), meets Thai hor mok (steamed curried eggs). Eggplants are roasted whole, peeled and flattened with a fork before being dipped into a curry paste and egg mixture and pan fried. Delicious, easy and healthy. Serve with rice.
Recipe
Serves: 2 | Prep time: 15min | Cook time: 1h to 1h15
Ingredients
- 2 eggplants/ aubergines
- 2 tbsp curry paste*
- 2 eggs
- Oil, to fry
- Salt (optional, depending on the saltiness of your curry paste)
- Rice, to serve (I like sushi rice for this but use whichever rice you want)
(*) Any Thai curry paste works but red, yellow and masaman curry are the best
Method
Roast the eggplant (1h cooling)
- Pre-heat your oven to 200°C (400°F).
- Using a fork, or the tip of a sharp knife, poke holes in and around each eggplant to prevent them from bursting in the oven (picture 1).
- Line a baking sheet with baking paper or aluminium foil.
- Place the eggplants on the lined baking sheet and roast in the oven for 45min to 1h, turning every 20min. The cook time will vary depending on the size of the eggplants. The eggplants are ready when they are soft on all side and start to collapse on themselves.
- Once ready, take the eggplants out of the oven and let cool.
- Whilst the eggplant is cooling, put 2 portions of rice on to cook (follow packet instructions).
Make the omelette (15min)
- Whilst the eggplants are cooling, crack the 2 eggs in a bowl and mix in 2 tbsp of curry paste until well combined (picture 2). Some curry pastes are saltier than others, depending on your curry paste you may need to add a pinch of salt. Have a quick taste of your curry paste to decide, the brand I used in the picture (Koh Thai) needed the extra salt.
- Peel the eggplants (careful skins may still be hot, cool longer if needed). When peeling, keep the stem on, the eggplants should remain whole (picture 3).
- Pace the peeled eggplants on a flat surface and flatten using a fork (picture 4). Give them a quick pat with a clean paper towel to remove a bit of the excess moisture. Don’t worry if some bits break off you can still use them later.
- Dip the flattened eggplants in the curry and egg mixture making sure to coat well (picture 5). Proceed the same way with any broken bits.
- Coat the bottom of a frying pan with oil and heat to medium heat.
- Fry the eggplants 3 to 4min per side until lightly browned. Do the same with any of the broken bits of eggplant.
- Serve with rice.
- Enjoy!
- BONUS: once the eggplants are cooked pan fry the remaining curried egg dip for a nice little snack!
Substitutions
I suggest here some possible substitutions to adapt the omelette to your preferences and ingredients available to you.
| Recipe components | Possible substitutions* |
| Eggplant | Ideally make this with Chinese eggplants (longer and thinner than the ones I used). |
| Curry paste | • Just use your favourite thai curry paste • Skip and just salt the eggs for a classic Filipino Tortang Talong • Skip the curry paste and season with your favourite spices and seasoning for different global variations (Indian curry, fish sauce, etc.) |
| Dips | • I like serving this dish with a side of prik nam pla (Thai fish sauce dip) to dip the rice in. I use this recipe and add extra chili flake and chopped fresh cilantro/ coriander. • Sriracha |
The Global Homecook 