Seasonal local food recipe No.368 – Aubergine curry with chilli, tomato and kaffir lime leaves
This recipe is taken from Rick Stein’s Far Eastern Odyssey. If you miss out the shrimp paste, you have got a pleasing vegetarian curry. The kaffir lime leaves can also be replaced with grated lime zest.
Kecap manis is a thick, sweet Indonesian soy sauce which Rick Stein says is not interchangeable with ordinary soy sauce but we just put in a little extra dark soy sauce. The use of fresh tomatoes gave the curry a nice fresh taste.
Serves 4
Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 20 minutes
Ingredients
2 medium-sized aubergines
7 tbsp vegetable oil
200g shallots, thinly sliced
25g garlic, thinly sliced
25g peeled ginger, finely chopped
2 medium-hot red chillies, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp shrimp paste
200g chopped tomatoes
4 kaffir lime leaves
1 tbsp kecap manis
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
1 tsp palm sugar
juice of 1/2 lime
Method
Cut the aubergines in half lengthways and then across into slices 1cm thick. Heat 5 tablespoons of the oil in a wok or large, deep frying pan. Add the aubergines and stir fry for 6 minutes until lightly golden. Lift out with a slotted spoon onto a plate and set aside.
Add the remaining oil to the pan, add the shallots and garlic and fry until golden. Add the ginger, chillies, shrimp paste and tomatoes and cook for a few seconds more until the tomatoes have softened.
Return the aubergines to the pan with the lime leaves and 6 tablespoons of water. Simmer for 2 minutes until the aubergines are tender and the sauce has reduced slightly. Stir in the kecap manis, dark soy sauce, sugar, lime juice and 1/2 teaspoon salt or to taste, and serve.
