Tortang talong is a staple dish found in every Filipino household. This simple omelet dish is perfectly tender and budget-friendly!

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The humble tortang talong is a simple eggplant egg dish, made by charring eggplant until soft and mixing it along with scrambled egg until they merge into one.

My parents cooked this dish almost every week at home, and I honestly never bothered to try it until I caved one day (one of my best decisions by far).

A simple dish, but it’s one of the best ways to really showcase the flavor and versatility of the eggplant. It’s the main reason why eggplant had quickly become my favorite vegetable!

What is tortang talong?

“Torta” in Tagalog refers to an omelette or egg fritter, while “talong” means eggplant.

The combination of the two forms the most perfect Filipino egg dish: soft and moist in the center while remaining slightly crisp from the fried beaten egg.

Tortang talong with green onions and banana ketchup

Tortang talong is incredibly simple to prepare. The main prep work you’d need to do is to char your eggplant to ensure its flesh is soft and tender.

We then dip it with beaten egg before pan-frying on both sides until golden brown. It’s so easy, yet absolutely delicious!

It tastes even better when dipped with banana ketchup for that perfect balance of sweet, tangy, and savory.

You could get creative with this dish by adding some aromatics (like minced garlic and onion) or even ground meats (such as beef or pork) to the omelette.

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Ingredients

Eggplant: The preferred eggplant you’ll want to use for tortang talong are those long, slender Chinese eggplants. If you can’t find these, other eggplant variants may also work, you might just need to roast/grill these longer as their flesh can be thicker.

Egg: In general, you’ll need 1 egg per eggplant, sounds easy enough, right?

Salt & Pepper: These are the basic and minimum seasonings for tortang talong. Other recipes may call for fish sauce as the salt component, which can also work.

Oil: For frying the eggplant, you’ll need any neutral oil such as peanut or corn oil.

Banana Ketchup: This is the standard ketchup dipping sauce in the Philippines, which is typically paired alongside tortang talong.

Contrary to popular belief, banana ketchup does not taste like bananas at all (though I can’t blame you if that was your first impression). It simply tastes like standard Western ketchup, with just a slight jammier consistency.

The Filipino ketchup was historically produced in the Philippines during World War 2 in response to a shortage of tomatoes, but a surplus of bananas.

How to prepare the eggplant

Prepping the eggplant beforehand is essential as to ensure the tortang talong is at its proper texture and tenderness. Luckily, eggplant is super versatile, and there are numerous methods you can do to prepare it depending on your preference or accessibilities:

Charcoal Grill: This is one of the main traditional methods in preparing eggplant in the Philippines. Simply grill the eggplant until it has blackened in color all-over and set aside to cool. The charcoal is perfect in adding that signature smoky taste which adds a depth of flavor to the torta.
Open Flame/Gas Stove: This is the fastest way to blacken the skin of the eggplant since we’re using direct flames to char the skin. Be sure to constantly rotate the eggplant to allow for even charring all over.

Oven Broiler: Place the eggplants on a wire rack and set them under the broiler (on high) for around 20-25 minutes until darkened in color. This does take some time, but it’s a great alternative for those who don’t have access to gas stoves. Poke holes into the eggplant to prevent them from bursting in the oven. Also be sure to rotate the eggplants periodically for even charring.
Boiling: This is another method for softening the eggplant flesh if you prefer to not deal with fire and want a more hands-off approach. Pierce holes all over the eggplant and boil for around 5 minutes. Let it cool completely before peeling off the skin. Do note that we will lose some of that smoky flavor when doing this method, but the omelette will still taste delicious either way!

Instructions

Prepare the eggplant according to your method of choice (grill, open-flame, broil, or boil).

Cover the eggplants with aluminum foil and let them cool and soften for at least 10 minutes. Once cooled, peel off the charred/darkened skin to expose the flesh, but leave the stem attached.

In a separate bowl, beat together the eggs, salt, and pepper until well combined.

Add the eggplant to the beaten egg mixture. With a fork, flatten out the eggplant by gently mashing it into a fan shape. Flip the eggplant to ensure even coating with the beaten egg.

Fry the eggplant in an oiled pan over medium heat for 2-3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown in color (be sure to pour the remaining egg mixture on top!)

Drain any residual oil and let cool. Top with chopped scallions and serve with banana ketchup.

How to serve

As with most egg dishes, tortang talong is mainly eaten for breakfast in the Philippines, usually paired with rice, banana ketchup as a dip, and maybe even some salad on the side.

While it is considered a main dish, it works great as a side dish or as an appetizer as well. You can pair this torta with whatever you desire, some of my favorites being protein (like shrimp or beef) or other vegetables (like cucumbers and tomatoes).

Tips

Add extra spices and proteins: I like thinking of tortang talong as a blank canvas. While delicious on its own, you can play around with different spices and other additions to take it to the next level.

You can try sprinkling in white pepper, chili oil, freshly diced onions, tomatoes, or even lemon grass.

Feel free to toss in some shredded chicken, beef, or pork as well. Adding giniling (Filipino ground beef or pork) is a more common practice as a way to use up any leftovers from the night before!

Flip the eggplant using the stem: Apart from keeping the whole eggplant together, the stem also works as a handle that you can use to aid in flipping the omelette. With enough practice, you could even try flipping it without the use of spatulas at all!

FAQs

Can I use other kinds of eggplants?

The typical eggplant used for tortang talong are Chinese eggplants. They’re thin and soften incredibly quickly when grilled or cooked over an open flame.

If you don’t have access to Chinese eggplants, any other eggplant variety will work just fine. You may just need to adjust your grilling/roasting time as other variants tend to be thicker than Chinese eggplants.

How do I store leftovers?

Leftovers can be stored I refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 2-3 days.

You can simply reheat the tortang talong in the microwave or give them a quick fry over medium heat.

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