Soy limang terung is a dish of silky smooth eggplants with sweet, sour and salty flavours. It makes a great side dish and if you love eggplants, you will love this recipe!
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
What’s in a Name?
The name of today’s recipe is essentially a combination of the local Eurasian patois called Kristang (spelled Kristao) and Malay.
- soy = refers to the soy sauce
- limang = the lime juice
- terung = eggplants in Malay (eggplants are also called aubergines and brinjals)
Soy Limang Terung = a dish of eggplants cooked in a base of soy sauce and lime juice.
Soy limang is in fact a dish that can refer to anything cooked in this combination. We can have soy limang ikan (fish), soy limang telur (eggs) and whatever else you fancy. Soy limang telur would be the Eurasian version of the Nyonya Telur Tempra, a recipe I did sometime ago, see below.
Click here to read up more about the Eurasians and their origin in Singapore and Malaysia on our main recipes page. You’ll also find more information on the different ethnicities that make up the local population.
Soy Limang Terung Recipe
It’s a very easy recipe to put together. You only need some basic ingredients. Some like a wetter dish, while I prefer my soy limang terung to be on the dry side, with minimal sauce. That’s something that you can decide for yourself, but more of that later.
Traditionally, the eggplants are deep fried for this dish. However, in the interest of a lighter and healthier dish, I always use the air fryer for this. I give you both options for this in the recipe below.
I’ve also simplified this recipe over the years, this is what we’ll be doing to cook this traditional Kristang recipe from Malacca:
- We fry the eggplants.
- Sauté the aromatics.
- Add the fried eggplants.
- Add all the seasonings, including the soy sauce, water and lime juice.
That’s it. All done. Easy, right?
If you want a wetter dish, just double up on the soy sauce, water and lime juice.
The Ingredients
Soy limang terung doesn’t need much in terms of ingredients, as mentioned previously. Let’s take a look at some of them, shall we?
Eggplants for Soy Limang Terung
Eggplants, aubergines, brinjals, whatever you call them, is what this dish is all about. All you need is about 2 medium eggplants to serve 4 as a side dish. I’ve given the weight you need, so whatever eggplants you happen to have, it doesn’t matter, as long as you have roughly the same weight as in the recipe.
In the past, I’ve also made soy limang terung using novelty heirloom varieties that I’ve grown, like the Turkish orange and the white Casper varieties. And it’s been delicious every single time.
Sauce Ingredients
The other important part of today’s Eurasian heritage recipe is the tangy, sweet and salty sauce. This is what we need to make the soy limang sauce:
- light soy sauce
- sweet soy sauce (kicap manis)
- lime juice
- a little water
Some people might use dark soy sauce and sugar, but kicap manis does the job better.
Aromatics
We have the usual suspects of onion and garlic but no ginger in today’s Eurasian side dish.
Besides that, we also have red chillies. The chillies play an important part in soy limang terung in so far that they will determine whether you have a mild or hot dish. I like a little heat with mine, despite the fact that I would always have some sambal belacan to go along with this Kristang recipe. Because sambal is LIFE!
Then, when you are done cooking, scatter a tiny amount of chopped coriander leaves (cilantro) or spring onions (scallions), if you like. There are no hard and fast rules here.
How to Serve Soy Limang Terung?
Soy limang terung is primarily a tangy, salty and sweet dish. The spicy is negotiable. So it makes the perfect accompaniment to more robust dishes and also to creamy ones, like Curry Devil (robust and spicy) and Sayur Lemak (mild and creamy). Its tart and syrupy flavours are the perfect foil to spice and cream.
Here are some examples of dishes perfect with soy limang terung. You’ll find more on the Recipes Page. Just don’t forget the sambal belacan!
And there you have it, an easy vegan Eurasian recipe, Soy Limang Terung. Let’s get cooking!
If you enjoy the recipe, drop me a comment and let me know. Feeling like a star? Don’t forget that 5-star rating!
If you make this recipe, post it on Instagram and tag me @azlinbloor and hashtag it #linsfood.
Lin xx
Soy Limang Terung (Eggplants with Lime and Soy Sauce)
Ingredients
- 2 medium eggplants (about 500g – 600g/1.1 lb – 1.3 lb))
- 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- PLUS more oil if frying the eggplants see Frying the Eggplants in Instructions
- 3 Tbsp fresh lime juice
- 1 Tbsp light soy sauce
- 2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
- 60 ml water
- ⅛ tsp salt
Aromatics
- 1 medium onion about 140g/5 oz pre peeled weight
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 5 red birds eye chillies or less, or use a mild chilli
- 2 sprigs coriander leaves (cilantro) or spring onions (scallions)
Instructions
Prep the Eggplants
Air Fryer
- Preheat your air fryer to 200°C/400°F for 5 minutes.Halve the eggplants lengthwise, then cut in long, thick sticks, see image. Place them in a bowl.2 medium eggplants
- Sprinkle the salt all over and drizzle 1 Tbsp of the lime juice.Pour about ½ the Tbsp of oil into one of your palms, rub your hands together, then rub these oily palms all over all the eggplant sticks.3 Tbsp fresh lime juice, ⅛ tsp salt, 2 Tbsp vegetable oil
- Place them in the air fryer basket and fry for 10 minutes, flipping them halfway.If you're air frying, at this stage, move on to prepping the aromatics.
Frying the Eggplants in Oil
- Prep the eggplants as above.Heat the oil in a wok or large frying pan on medium heat. Fry the eggplants in a single layer for 5 minutes, flipping halfway through. Do this in 2 batches if you have to.How much oil you use here is up to you. If I were frying the eggplants, I'd only use about 4 Tbsp of oil altogether and fry the eggplants in 2 batches.Traditionally, about 250ml/1 cup of oil would have been used to deep fry the eggplants, which are like sponges and will soak up a lot of oil.PLUS more oil if frying the eggplants
- When done, take them out and place on a plate double lined with kitchen paper.
Prep the Aromatics
- Halve, then thinly slice the onion.Chop the garlic width wise.Slice the chillies in long, thin strips.1 medium onion, 2 medium cloves garlic, 5 red birds eye chillies
Let's Cook the Soy Limang
- Heat the oil in a roomy wok of deep frying pan on medium heat and fry the onions for 1 minute.PLUS more oil if frying the eggplants
- Add the garlic and chillies and fry for 30 seconds.
- Add the fried eggplant sticks, give them a quick stir to mix, then add the water, light and sweet soy sauces, lime juice and just a pinch of salt. Mix well, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 5 minutes, until the eggplants are completely soft and have taken on a glossy look.1 Tbsp light soy sauce, 60 ml water, 2 Tbsp sweet soy sauce
- Taste the dry sauce and add more light soy sauce if necessary. Finish off with herbs, if you fancy.If you want a wetter final dish, increase the soy sauces, water and lime juice proportionately. So double all the amounts.2 sprigs coriander leaves (cilantro)
Can you make this dish in advance of serving ie. several hours before? Thank you
Yes, absolutely.
Just re heat gently on the stove, but cn also be eaten at room temperature, say for a picnic.
This was really good Lin, thank you. Very different in terms of flavour and we all loved it, even the kids!
My pleasure, Rosalind. I’m really pleased to hear that!