Try This Easy Roasted Version Of The Nyonya Sambal Eggplant Dish In 'Emerald Hill'

If you love brinjals, then this dish by cookbook author and food writer Sylvia Tan will be right up your alley. Also known as sambal terong, it features oven-roasted brinjals instead of traditional fried ones, and is topped with sambal, shrimp fry, fried shallots and nuts so every bite is bursting with flavour. For extra richness, Sylvia recommends adding candlenut. Read more about the dish and pick up cooking tips here.

Yield: 3 to 4 Servings
Prep Time: mins
Cook Time: mins
Difficulty Level: /5

Ingredients

• 2 medium-sized brinjals, slit into half, lengthwise
• 1 red onion, peeled and chopped finely
• 2 tbsps bottled chilli paste or to taste
• Roasted shrimp fry
• Fried shallots, available in bottles
• Roasted nuts such as pistachios or peanuts
• Fresh coriander and 1 stalk spring onion

Steps

01. Heat oven to 180 C. Spray oil on brinjals and put them on a tray. When oven is hot, place brinjals inside.

02. Roast brinjals for 20 to 25 mins till they are tender.

03. Heat a teaspoon of oil in a pan and soften the chopped onions. Add the chilli paste and stir well.

04. Remove brinjals from oven. Spread chilli paste and scatter nuts, shallots and shrimp fry over brinjals.

05. Garnish with chopped spring onion and coriander.

Recipe: Sylvia Tan / Photo: Feline Lim / The Straits TimesThis article was originally published on June 23, 2017 and updated on April 20, 2025.