Sambal Eggplant is a well-known Nyonya dish that loved by those who have “hot tongue”, don’t get me wrong, what I mean here is those who love hot and spicy food.  It is not difficult for one to notice that most Nyonya foods are hot and fishy,where dried shrimps are added in most of the time. Well,  this is the uniqueness of Nyonya cuisine.

Surprisingly, I just found out that only Malaysian people call eggplant as “brinjal”, it is not found in most of the dictionaries! Due to my curiosity, I started to investigate the reason behind it. And guess what, I got the answer from wikipedia – - “In Indian, South African and Malaysian English, the fruit is known as a brinjal, which derives directly from the Portuguese beringela”

Let’s get back to the recipe, like usual, check out the ingredients needed first :

2 eggplant, sliced into strips 2-inches long

a handful of dried shrimp, soaked and minced

2 tbsp chili sauce

2 birdeye chili(optional)

a few anchovies (optional)

1 onion, chopped

2 glove garlic, chopped

frying oil

salt

How to Cook

1) heat up frying oil in a wok, deep fry eggplant till fully cooked, retain oil and set aside.

2) remove extra oil, leave 2 tbsp cooking oil and add garlic, chopped onion, stir fry till fragrant.

3) add in minced dried shrimp, anchovies, fry till golden. Add in chili sauce, birdeye chili and mix well.

4) put back the fried eggplant, stir fry till mix well, add in enough salt. Serve.

So, the famous tangy mouthwatering Southeast Asian Food is ready to serve. If you are thinking to skip that deep frying  step, I strongly not recommend to do so. Although by that way you can have a less oil, healthier meal, and less work,  but the taste turn out to be extremely weird. Believe me, I have tried that before. The result? Ah, you don’t want to know….

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