Talong (Tagalog) or
Taeong (Aklanon). The Philippine eggplant is the long and slender type,
royal purple in color. It is very tasty compared to the large aubergine which tastes
like cotton. It's a really a fruit but it is eaten as a vegetable. It is probably
native to the Philippines and the Southeast Asian region as the original name
for it in Chinese translates as the Malayan purple melon.
It is used as an ingredient to many Philippine vegetable dishes, notably in the
pinakbet from the north and also in the kare-kare (beef peanut stew).
I like it as an omelet - a very ingeneous dish actually (see recipe, tortang Tagalog below). The talong is boiled
or broiled, then peeled, then mashed while still on the stem, to effect that the
mashed fleshy portion fans out. The fanned portion is then dipped into beaten eggs
and then fried. Delicious! Of course the best talong dish is the inihaw
na talong, broiled eggplant, dipped in vinegar and garlic, and garnished with
chopped onions, tomatoes and green mangoes.
