Rellenong Talong (Stuffed Eggplant)

Rellenong Talong (Stuffed Eggplant)

Eggplant, known as talong in Tagalog, is of the slender purple-skinned variety. Talong is usually grilled over the stove before being chopped and made into a salad; or stuffed (Rellenong Talong); or sautéed in a vegetable dish like Pinakbet.

Estimated cooking time: 40 minutes

Rellenong Talong Ingredients:

* 6 medium eggplants (aubergines)
* 2 tablespoons corn oil
* ½ medium onion, minced
* 6 cloves garlic, minced
* 500 g (1 lb) minced pork
* 2 eggs
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 60g (½ cup) corn oil for frying
* Chopped tomato, to garnish (optional)
* Chopped spring onion, to garnish (optional)

Rellenong Talong Cooking Instructions:

* Grill eggplants until soft, about 10 minutes each side. Peel but do not remove stems. Flatten eggplants with the back of a fork into fan-like shape. Set aside.
* In a frying pan, heat corn oil for 1 minute. Sautè onion until soft, then add garlic and sautè until fragrant.
* Add the minced pork and cook until it turns brown and loses its raw color. Remove from heat.
* Beat eggs in a shallow bowl. Dip the flattened eggplants in the beaten eggs. Spoon some of the cooked pork in to each eggplant and season with salt. Dredge with flour so the pork will adhere to the eggplant.
* Heat oil in a wok, then fry the eggplants one or two at a time until brown. With a heat-proof spatula turn eggplants over to brown the other side. Remove from pan and drain paper towels.
* If desired, garnish with tomato and spring onion and serve.