Tortang Talong

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I seldom cook meatless tortang talong (aubergine or eggplant frittata) for the reason that I might be the only one to eat it. And yes, I do cook it for myself to enjoy (and others like adobong atay, burong mustasa and nilagang talong) while preparing another dish for the rest of my family. Back home, our torta is always meatless – just the aubergine and the egg and their glorious taste. (Adobong atay – chicken or pork liver cooked in vinegar and spices, burong mustasa – fermented or just simply salted mustard leaves, nilagang talong – boiled aubergine.)

Ingredients:
1medium aubergine
1 tomato, diced
1 egg, whisked
1 cup of left-over pork adobo, diced (or minced pork)
salt & pepper

Roast the aubergine over gas flame. In the meantime, stir-fry the meat for about 2 minutes and set aside. Then, peel off the aubergine’s charred skin and flatten its flesh with fork. Mix in the egg, 1/2 cup of the diced meat, salt and pepper, with the stem as the handle.

Fry the aubergine over low to medium heat (with little cooking oil as possible). Carefully place the tomatoes and the rest of the meat on top of the aubergine. Fry until the bottom is set and a little brownish depending on how you want them done and then invert the frittata to cook the top. Repeat the procedure with as many talong as you want. Serve with ketsup.

No clever arrangement of bad eggs ever made a good omelet. – C.S. Lewis (British Scholar and Novelist. 1898-1963)

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Iska
I am not a professional cook. My only claim to having a culinary background is a short stint as my dad’s teen ‘sous chef’ in his carinderia ages ago. Dad ran small eateries since I was a young kid - serving standard ‘turo-turo’ food ranging from the likes of menudo, adobo, pritong isda, dinuguan, binagoongan, bopis, munggo, pinakbet and giniling to merienda fares like goto, ginataan, pancit bihon, halu-halo and saging con yelo.

My father, a farmer in his hometown before working his way to becoming an accountant, definitely influenced my cooking in a lot of ways than I thought. My siblings and I were raised in a backyard full of fruit trees and vegetable garden. We spent weekends and the summer breaks running around with ducks, chickens, goats and pigs. I had wonderful memories of gathering eggs, butchering chickens, selling vegetables and the sweet aroma of preserved fruits. But my love for art led me to a degree in Architecture. Just few months after getting my license, I went abroad and lived independently at age 23. Definitely no maid, no cook, and a totally different food culture. Along the way I met lots of friends and spent what seemed a lifetime learning new tricks and recipes.

Now living in Auckland, I am a work-from-home mum who juggles time between work, fun and family - in pursuit of work-life balance. No matter how busy I am, I love the idea of cooking for my family. My blog chronicles home cooking greatly influenced by life outside my home country from Southeast Asia to Beijing and Auckland. And most of the time, being busy also means easy (sometimes quick), affordable meals.

8 thoughts on “Tortang Talong

  1. I will eat meatless tortang talong with you Iska!!! This is one of my faves! And even though I eat meat, for some reason, I don’t like it in my tortang talong. And guess what… I also HAVE to eat it with ketsup! I can eat this in obscene quantities…

  2. hi joey & grace! pasensya na ngayon lng ako nagbabasa uli ng mails. just came back from vacation…

    joey, meatless tortang talong talaga iba talaga ano :)
    grace, i will try ur recipe.

  3. WOW im onyl 14..i was stuck at home craving for tortang talong lol but ive no clue how to make it… this really helped me thanks =D

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