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Salad

Ensaladang Talong

A Filipino salad of eggplant, tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, soy sauce, rice vinegar, sugar, and chili peppers.

From the Recipes Wiki (Fandom) · 9 ingredients
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Why it works: Onion and garlic match in chemistry and in kitchens. They rank in the top 1% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 29,058 recipes. Both carry furaneol, which smells caramel, strawberry. The science ↓

Ensaladang Talong

Timeat least 30 minutes standing

Ingredients

Directions

Prepare the eggplant

  1. Boil or steam the eggplants until almost mushy.

  2. Cool the eggplants.

  3. Cut the eggplants in half vertically and scrape off the meat with a spoon.

  4. Place the scraped meat in a large bowl.

Prepare the vegetables

  1. Cut the tomatoes into quarters (or into eighths if they are large).

  2. Cut the onions into quarters (or eighths if large).

  3. Add the tomatoes and onions to the eggplants and toss lightly.

  4. Peel and finely mince the garlic.

Make the dressing and serve

  1. Mix together the light soy sauce, rice vinegar, grated ginger, and sugar.

  2. Add the minced garlic and the chili peppers.

  3. Crush the peppers with a spoon.

  4. Pour the dressing over the vegetables and toss.

  5. Cover and let stand for at least 30 minutes before serving.

Nutrition, whole recipe (rough)

182Calories
5 gProtein
1 gFat
41 gCarbs
What these numbers assume: 10 portions
IngredientPortion assumedkcal
Sugar1 tbsp (12.5g) granulated49
Onion1 medium (110g)44
Eggplant1 cup cubed (82g)35
Tomato1 medium (123g)22
Soy Sauce1 tbsp (15ml)9
Chili1 tsp (2.7g)8
Pepper1 tsp ground (2.3g)6
Garlic1 clove (3g)4
Vinegar1 tbsp (15ml) distilled3
Ginger1 tsp grated fresh (2g)2

One typical portion per ingredient; the recipe's quantities are not counted. A rough guide only, not for medical or dietary planning.

Recipe from the Recipes Wiki (Fandom).

Steps grouped into stages for easier reading; the method is the source's own.

Explore the science

The flavor team

The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.

  1. Onion + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together29,058 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  2. Eggplant + garlictop 1% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together801 recipes

    Shared aroma: coumarin (sweet, hay).

  3. Eggplant + tomatotop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together651 recipes

    Shared aroma: guaiacol (smoky, sweet).

  4. Tomato + garlictop 3% of all pairs
    Smell alikemoderate
    Cooked together14,076 recipes

    Shared aroma: furaneol (caramel, strawberry).

  5. Tomato + ricetop 6% of all pairs
    Smell alikestrong
    Cooked together3,065 recipes

    Shared aroma: trans-2-nonenal (cardboard, fatty).

Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs

What each ingredient does

Eggplants
Cooked soft flesh forms the body of the salad and absorbs the dressing.
Tomatoes
Add juiciness and acidity that brighten the eggplant's mild, creamy flesh.
White onions
Contribute sharp, pungent flavor that mellows as the salad stands.
Rice vinegar
Adds acidity that balances the rich, soft eggplant and the savory soy.
Light soy sauce
Provides salty, savory depth that seasons the eggplant throughout.
Garlic
Adds sharp aroma and pungency that mellow during the standing time.

The step that matters

Cook the eggplants until almost mushy. Eggplant flesh must become soft and creamy to scrape cleanly and blend into the salad. Undercooked flesh stays firm and fibrous, and it will not absorb the dressing well.

Swap the onion

How well each one fits the dish's main ingredients (eggplant, tomato, garlic, rice, vinegar, sauce, sugar):

  1. Capsicumfits better
  2. Cucumberfits better
  3. Okrafits better
  4. Onionthe original

Fit is the average pairing score against eggplant, tomato, garlic, rice, vinegar, sauce, sugar. Candidates are from the same food group and used in at least 100 recipes.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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