Terong Balado

Padang-style Indonesian eggplant fried golden and tossed in a vivid red balado chilli sauce from the Minangkabau highlands of West Sumatra

Origin: West Sumatra (Padang), Indonesia

Padang cuisine, from the Minangkabau highlands and port city of West Sumatra, is one of the two great culinary traditions of Indonesia, celebrated across the archipelago and throughout the global Indonesian diaspora for its bold, uncompromising flavours. The Minangkabau people have been seafarers and traders for centuries: their maritime networks extended along the coasts of Sumatra, through the Strait of Malacca, and into the trading ports of the Malay Peninsula and beyond. It is through these networks that eggplant, known throughout the Indonesian archipelago as terong (from the Sanskrit root that also gives the Malay 'terung' and the Cape Malay 'brinjal'), became embedded in Sumatran cooking. The defining technique of Padang cooking is the balado: a sauce of fresh red chillies, shallots, garlic, and tomato, blended to a rough paste and fried in generous oil until caramelised and fragrant, with no fermented shrimp paste. This distinguishes Padang balado sharply from Malaysian sambal (which uses belacan) and from Thai and Vietnamese chilli pastes: it is a pure, bright, plant-based sauce, and its vivid red-orange colour against the deep brown-gold of the fried eggplant is one of the most visually striking presentations in Indonesian cooking. Terong balado is served as one of many dishes in nasi padang, the Padang tradition of presenting multiple preparations around a central bowl of rice; it sits alongside rendang, gulai, and fish preparations, adding colour, heat, and the satisfying textural contrast of crisp-edged eggplant against the slick, fragrant balado.

Ingredients

Eggplant

600 g eggplant (about 2 medium), cut into quarters lengthwise then into 5 cm pieces
1 tsp fine salt, for salting
100 ml vegetable oil, for frying

Balado Sauce

8 large red chillies, roughly chopped (deseed for milder heat)
3 bird's eye chillies (optional, for extra heat)
6 shallots, roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic
2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped
3 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp fine salt
0.5 tsp sugar

To Serve

steamed rice, to serve

Method

Toss the eggplant pieces with the 1 teaspoon of salt and leave in a colander for 15 minutes. Pat thoroughly dry with kitchen paper.
Place the red chillies, bird's eye chillies (if using), shallots, garlic, and tomatoes in a blender or small food processor. Blend to a rough paste, leaving some texture rather than a completely smooth purée.
Heat the 100 ml of frying oil in a wide pan or wok over medium-high heat. Fry the eggplant pieces in batches for 4 to 5 minutes per batch, turning occasionally, until deep golden-brown on most sides. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on kitchen paper.
Pour off most of the frying oil, leaving about 3 tablespoons in the pan (or add fresh oil to make 3 tablespoons). Reduce the heat to medium. Add the blended chilli paste. Fry, stirring frequently, for 12 to 15 minutes until the paste has darkened, become fragrant, and the oil has separated and pools around the edges of the sauce.
Add the salt and sugar. Stir well, taste, and adjust: the sauce should be spicy, slightly sweet, and deeply savoury.
Add the fried eggplant to the balado sauce. Toss gently to coat all pieces thoroughly. Cook together for 2 to 3 minutes over low heat so the eggplant absorbs the sauce. Serve at room temperature or warm alongside steamed rice.

Notes

Balado sauce has no fixed heat level: adjust the proportion of bird's eye chillies to large red chillies to suit your tolerance. Removing the seeds from the large red chillies before blending reduces heat while preserving colour and flavour. The dish is fully vegan as written; Padang balado, unlike Malaysian sambal, contains no shrimp paste. Leftover terong balado keeps well for 2 days refrigerated and is excellent as a filling for sandwiches or wraps. The same balado sauce is used across Padang cooking with prawns, fish, eggs, and tempe; the technique is the backbone of the entire Padang sambal tradition.

The Gastrographer

Name: Terong Balado
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 45 min
Yield: 4
Cuisine: Indonesia
Ingredients: 600 g eggplant (about 2 medium), cut into quarters lengthwise then into 5 cm pieces; 1 tsp fine salt, for salting; 100 ml vegetable oil, for frying; 8 large red chillies, roughly chopped (deseed for milder heat); 3 bird's eye chillies (optional, for extra heat); 6 shallots, roughly chopped; 4 cloves garlic; 2 medium tomatoes, roughly chopped; 3 tbsp vegetable oil; 1 tsp fine salt; 0.5 tsp sugar; steamed rice, to serve

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Ingredient originTrade or transit route

Became a culinary stapleColonial / trade control