As a child, Edwin's mom told him, "If you want to eat, you should cook it yourself." And that's exactly what he's been doing ever since.

What Is Tortang Talong?

Tortang talong, or eggplant omelet, is one of my most favorite Filipino dishes. It's a popular comfort food that is found in many local restaurants and made in every household across the country.

What I like about this dish is that the eggplant is roasted first, before being dipped into the egg mixture. This adds a smokey flavor to the eggplant that can't be beat. In our household, we traditionally make this recipe with ground meat or even seafood.

Cook Time

Ingredients

• 3 Japanese or Chinese eggplants
• 2 eggs, beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 tablespoons oil, for frying
• 6 ounces ground pork
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped

Instructions

1. Roast the eggplant directly on top of the stove over medium-high heat, turning it a few times until it's tender.
2. Remove the eggplant from the stove and allow it to cool.
3. Once the eggplant has cooled, peel off the skins.
4. Flatten the eggplants with a fork.
5. Heat oil in a pan and saute the garlic and ground pork over medium heat. Season with salt. Cook until brown, about 5 minutes. Set aside.
6. Season the beaten egg mixture with salt.
7. Dip the flattened eggplant into the egg mixture to coat it on both sides.
8. Place the eggplant in a large skillet over medium heat.
9. Spoon some of the ground pork on top of the eggplant. Then spoon some of the egg mixture on top. After 5 minutes, carefully flip the eggplant over to fry the other side that has the ground pork on it.
10. Cook for another 5 minutes. Repeat steps 7-9 for each eggplant.
11. Serve with Filipino banana sauce.

Variations

• Instead of roasting the eggplant on the stove, you can roast it on your barbecue grill or broil it in the oven for about 15 minutes.
• You can substitute ground beef for the ground pork—or omit the meat entirely, if desired.