An easy tortang talong recipe with crisp and curly edges; smoky and flavorful on the inside. Here you will learn how to make your favorite Filipino eggplant dish in two ways. Perfect for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!
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What is Tortang Talong?
Tortang talong is a quintessential Filipino dish made of grilled eggplant dipped in eggs then pan-fried until crispy. It is often described as an omelet but it's more of a cross between a frittata and an omelet in my personal opinion.
This Filipino dish is popularly served for breakfast with a warm cup of rice (or garlic rice) but definitely enjoyable for lunch and dinner too.
Why you'll love this recipe
- You will learn how to cook the eggplant two ways–boiled and roasted or grilled.
- The eggplant is well seasoned and flavorful!
- Easy to follow recipe. If you're just beginning to learn how to cook then I'm glad to be of help.
How to Make It
And here's the step-by-step process on how to make it:
- Cook the eggplant–choose from charcoal grilling, stove-top roasting or boiling in water.
- Peel the the skin. Make sure it's cool to touch to avoid burning your fingers.
- Flatten with a fork until the flesh is spread out.
- Season with salt, ground back pepper and garlic powder.
- Pan-fry in hot oil.
3 Ways to cook the Eggplant
There's no one hard rule for cooking the eggplant. Just choose whatever is convenient for you:
Grilling
The traditional way of making tortang talong is grilling over hot charcoal until the flesh is soft (but not mushy) and the skin becomes charred. Bringing out the smoky flavor is the goal of this cooking method.
Stove-top
Of course, we all know that anything that involves charcoal-grilling takes up time and some preparation. And so most home cooks nowadays, prefer roasting the eggplants over a direct flame of a gas stove. This is way easiest way of cooking the eggplant and achieving the roasted and smoky flavor.
Boiling
An "atypical" way of softening the eggplants. This comes in handy if you don't have an oven or a gas stove to grill the eggplants. Purists probably shy away from this because it tends to make the eggplant a bit watery. Just a bit but I personally think it works "almost" the same as grilling without the smoky flavor.
Can I cook the eggplant in an air-fryer or microwave?
I have to try cooking the eggplant or in an air-fryer. I will definitely update this post as soon as I've done my tests.
Cooking Tips
Follow these simple cooking techniques to make a successful tortang talong:
- Use medium-heat to grill or roast the eggplant in the stove-top. This will blister and blacken the skin and slowly cook the flesh inside. Use cooking tongs to flip from one side to another.
- Place the eggplant inside a paper bag and tightly close for about 10 mins. This will create a steam and make the peeling of the skin easier.
- Season the flesh on both sides. This is the secret to making a delicious tortang talong.
- Dip the eggplant in the beaten eggs and make sure all sides are coated.
- To get the crispy and curly edges, make sure the oil is hot enough before frying the talong. If the oil is lukewarm, it will make the eggplant greasy and oil.
- Maintain medium heat and cook both sides until golden brown.
What to Serve with Tortang Talong
Serve over a warm cup of rice or bagoong rice. Drizzle with ketchup or hot chili sauce on top. In the Philippines, we love tortang talong with our very own sweet banana ketchup. So yummy!
Other recommended dipping sauces are fish sauce (patis) with calamansi (Philippine lemon) or lemon, soy sauce with calamansi or with anchovy sauce (bagoong-isda).
How about you?
Serve it with these Filipino dishes:
- Chicken Binagoongan Recipe
- Sarciadong Isda
- Salmon Fillet Paksiw sa Gata
- Pork Giniling with Potatoes and Quail Eggs
- Pork Belly Bicol Express
- Easy Skinless Longganisa (Hamonado)
- Pork Binagoongan (Binagoongang Baboy)
Recipe Video
Complete Recipe
Tortang Talong Recipe (Filipino fried eggplant)
Ingredients
- 2 medium-size eggplant (I used Japanese)
- 1 large egg (or 2 small eggs)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- cooking oil
Instructions
Tortang Talong - Stove Roasted
- Pierce eggplant with fork or tip of a knife. Place the eggplant directly on the burner of a gas stove turned to medium heat. When one side is charred, turn with tongs and start charring another side. Repeat until the eggplant has softened. Let it cool then peel off the skin with your fingers. Gently flatten with a fork.
Tortang Talong - Boiled
- Cook eggplants in boiling water until soft and tender. Transfer to a plate and let it cool. Peel off the skin with your fingers. Gently flatten with a fork.
How to Cook Tortang Talong
- Lightly season both sides of the eggplant with salt, garlic powder and ground black pepper.
- Beat eggs in a shallow bowl or plate. Lightly season with salt, garlic powder, and black pepper. Dip the eggplant into the mixture, making sure all sides are coated.
- Heat oil in a skillet. Once hot, gently place the eggplant in the pan. Fry until golden to dark brown. Spoon some of the beaten egg on the top side just before flipping to brown the other side. Transfer to a serving plate and serve with your favorite dip and rice of course!
Recipe Notes and Tips:
- Japanese and Chinese eggplant
- White Eggplant
- Green Eggplant
- Globe Eggplant
- Oven-baked the eggplants in an oven at 350f or 180c for 45mins to 1 hour until flesh has soften.
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Michele says
I'm so happy that you included the boiling option for this dish! Growing up, my mom would do the stove method to soften the eggplants but here I am cooking this for myself and I have an electric range. Thank you sis! 🍆