Eggplant in Sweet Soy Sauce

Name: Eggplant in Sweet Soy Sauce
Ingredients: 500 g purple eggplant/aubergine; 5 pc shallots, thinly sliced; 3 gloves garlic, thinly sliced; 5-7 small green/red chillies/bird-eye chillies, chopped ((skip if you don't like it spicy)); 2 pc large red chillies, chopped; 5 pc kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced; 1 cm galangale, bruised; 4 tbsp Indonesian sweet soya sauce / kecap manis; salt to taste; vegetable oil for frying

Origin: General Indonesia

Ingredients

500 g purple eggplant/aubergine
5 pc shallots, thinly sliced
3 gloves garlic, thinly sliced
5-7 small green/red chillies/bird-eye chillies, chopped (skip if you don't like it spicy)
2 pc large red chillies, chopped
5 pc kaffir lime leaves, thinly sliced
1 cm galangale, bruised
4 tbsp Indonesian sweet soya sauce / kecap manis
salt to taste
vegetable oil for frying

Eggplant in Sweet Soy Sauce

Let's cook from the scratch :-). I'm sure eggplant is available almost around the globe no matter where you live :-). With a simple touch of kecap manis, eggplants could turn into delicious food :-).

Just for your info, kecap manis is a very important sauce in Indonesian signature dishes, such as "Nasi Goreng", "Mie Goreng", "Satays" and many varieties of stir-fried dishes. I think I haven't met any Indonesian who's never had kecap manis at least once in their life time ha ha 😀

Tips: Use only the original Indonesian sweet soy sauce or known as Kecap Manis. This sauce is thick, sweet and contains almost no salt. You can find it eventually in Asian shops.

A simpel trick to prove its originality: Just shake the bottle downside, if the sauce has a thick, almost syrupy consistency then you get it right. If it flows like water, then never think to even try, otherwise you'll ruin the dish. Have a ncie cooking 🙂

Instructions

Wash the eggplant/aubergine, cut in half and slice into pieces/lengthwise. Put aside.
Heat about 100 ml/a half cup of oil in a frying pan over a medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant till golden brown (take about 4 minutes).
Set aside to drain.
Peel-off (if necessary) and slice all the seasoning ingredients.
Heat 2 tbsp oil in a used fryingpan and sauté the shallots & garlic first until fragrant.
Add chillies, galangal and kaffir-lime leaves.
Stir continuously until the seasonings well cooked and you smell a good-distinctive aroma.
Add the fried eggplant/aubergine, stir to mix.
Add kecap manis and stir to mix. Adjust the taste, add salt if nesessary.
Cook just shortly and remove from heat. Serve hot with rice.