Ensaladang Talong (Filipino Style Roasted Eggplant Salad)

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Ensaladang Talong (Filipino Style Roasted Eggplant Salad) is a favorite side with roasted dishes like grilled tuna belly, grilled pork belly, pork barbecue, crispy pata and many more!

There are not that many salad dishes in Philippine cuisine.  The ensaladang talong is a favorite because of the right balance of flavor and texture– not too sour, salty, or sweet.

Ensaladang talong combines the richness of roasted eggplants with a hint of sweetness from onions and tomatoes.  They are usually mixed together in a light dressing of vinegar, salt, and sugar.  This makes for a simple and easy to prepare side dish.  For this recipe, I decided to do away with the vinegar dressing and instead use Chinese bagoong (fermented shrimp paste)

To make this, you’ll need Asian eggplants. They’re the ones that are long, skinny, and with dark or light purple skin.

To roast the eggplants, I used a Lodge cast iron grill.  It looks like this:

This is a less mess method and more convenient.  No need to go outside and start a grill and deal with hot charcoals.

This is very easy to make. It takes less than 45 minutes to prepare this salad.  You can prepare it ahead and chill it in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Ingredients:

• 2 large eggplants
• 1 large tomato
• 1 medium onion
• Chinese Bagoong (to serve)

Instructions:

1. Use a fork or knife to pierce eggplants on all sides, and then place on top of grill.
2. Grill the eggplants until skin has wrinkled and darkened. Remove from grill and set aside to cool.
3. While grilling the eggplants, dice tomatoes and chop onions and place in a bowl.
4. Once eggplants have cooled, peel them carefully and remove as much skin as possible.
5. Place eggplants in the bowl together with tomatoes and onions. Toss salad and serve with Chinese Bagoong.