Spicy Eggplant Omelette, Tortang Talong, Glutenfree

The other day I was looking for a different recipe for eggplants – something different from baba ganoush, bhurta, burani and all the recipes I’ve tried so far. Luckily, I stumbled upon this Filipino recipe for an eggplant omelette,Tortang Talong. The more I researched about it, the more it intrigued me.

All recipes suggested that it combines meat, eggs and eggplants, though sometimes it is made even without any meat. It is a popular street food in Philippines but the recipe doesn’t originally belong to the place, it originated under the Spanish influence on local cuisine. The Spaniards have a similar dish called ‘berenjenas rellenas’ or stuffed eggplants.

The ingredients of the recipe immediately clicked and I thought that it could be easily adapted to many tastes. I used chicken mince and added red chilli paste to my omelette for a spicy version. You can use your favourite meat/seafood and spices to suit your taste. Any chilli paste would do from Harissa to Sriracha to Chinese hot sauce.

With smoked eggplants, salty meat and eggs served with rice or bread it is a complete and very satisfying meal.

The best thing is that this eggplant omelette is loaded with proteins and is gluten free.

2 medium eggplants
2 eggs
4 tablespoons chicken mince
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
1 teaspoon red chilli paste
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
Salt to taste
2-3 tablespoons oil for frying

Heat oven to 180 degrees C. Place eggplants in an oven proof dish, pierce them a little with fork so that they don’t burst open when hot.

Cook till the pulp is tender and skin slightly charred, about 30-35 minutes.

When cool, peel off the skin carefully so that the pulp stay attached to the stalk. Press the pulp gently with a fork to flatten the eggplants.

Meanwhile heat 1 tablespoon oil in a small frying pan. Add garlic and chicken mince, fry for 2-3 minutes till the chicken is cooked. Remove from pan, set aside.

Beat two eggs in a bowl, add red chilli paste, oyster sauce, black pepper and salt. Mix everything thoroughly.

In the same frying pan add another tablespoon oil, dip the eggplants in egg mixture. Place in the pan, cook on medium low heat for 2 minutes.

Add the chicken mix to the eggs, pour the mix over the eggplants, when one side is firm and cooked, flip the whole thing and cook on the other side. Takes around 2-3 minutes on each side. Serve hot with rice or bread, salad and more chilli sauce.

Serves 2