Under 150 calories per serving, this mild Burmese eggplant curry recipe, with its deliciously silky eggplant in a creamy, piquant gravy, is a perfect blend of sweet, sour, and spicy flavours.
This post contains affiliate links. For more information, please see my privacy policy.
I, like a lot of the Shan people, prefer my curries to be mild, with only a little kick... but you can make yours as hot as you like. A word of warning though, if you're using Thai chillies, don't be fooled by the size or colour; tiny green bird's eye chillies can pack a huge punch, whereas very often, the large red ones can be quite mild. My advice, unless you have a high tolerance for Thai chillies, stick with the ones you know!
Burmese food in Chiang Mai
One of our favourite places to eat when we lived in Chiang Mai was a really cheap hole-in-the-wall Burmese café; it was very basic but goodness, the food they served there was out of this world. For around £2 ($3), we could have two curries, two portions of rice, and an enormous bowl of lentil soup, plus all the water we could drink.(That's £2 for the two of us, not each!)
I miss that place sooo much!
(Sorry for the poor quality of the following couple of pics - I took them a few years ago with my very ageing iPhone 3GS!)
I'd love to tell you that I learned to make this Burmese curry while spending time in Myanmar but the truth is that there were plenty of Burmese people in Chiang Mai from whom I could learn. Most of them were construction workers and their families - some of whom I taught while volunteering at the Baan Dek Foundation.
One of the cooks there, Jeni, was the first person to teach me to cook SE Asian food, and I will always be grateful to her for introducing my tastebuds to a whole new world of flavours!
Try these Southeast Asian recipes, too!
You'll love my Burmese eggplant curry
Because it's...
- creamy
- mild
- tangy
- quick and easy to make
- low-calorie
- gluten-free (if you use tamari)
- oil-free
- soy-free (if you use coconut aminos)
- full of goodness
- completely scrumptious
Serve this curry with a little rice and a couple of Burmese salads, and you'll have a feast fit to grace any table! Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Burmese Eggplant Curry
Ingredients
Curry paste
- 1 Thai chilli sliced (note 1)
- 6 medium-large spring onions white and green parts, chopped
- 3 large cloves garlic roughly chopped
- 1 stalk fresh lemongrass sliced finely
- 5 cm fresh ginger root roughly chopped (note 2)
- 2.5 cm fresh galangal root roughly chopped
- 1 tablespoon all-purpose soy sauce (note 3)
- 1 tablespoon palm sugar
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 tablespoon tamarind paste
The rest:
- 500 g small eggplants, sliced
- 2 medium tomatoes chopped into chunks
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 400 ml canned coconut milk
- 1 dash salt optional (note 4)
Equipment
- food processor
- blender
- immersion blender
- wok
Instructions
- Steam the eggplant slices for around 5 mins, until soft.
- While they are steaming, make the curry paste by blitzing the ingredients in the first section together in a food processor, blender, or by using an immersion blender with a mini food processor attachment.
- Add the tomatoes to a hot wok over a medium heat, and dry-fry for 3-4 mins, until they begin to soften.
- Add the eggplant and turmeric, stir well, and continue to cook for another minute.
- Stir in the curry paste, making sure that everything is well-coated. Stir-fry for three or four minutes, until the 'raw' smell has gone.
- Mix in the coconut milk, turn down the heat, and allow to simmer for around 10 minutes, until the gravy has thickened.
- Taste, and season with a smidge of sea salt if necessary.
- Serve immediately. (Any leftovers can be kept in an airtight container in the 'fridge for up to 3 days.)
Notes
- Add more chillis if you like a bit more heat.
- If your ginger is very fresh, there's no need to peel it; however, if the skin is a bit thick, scrape it off with the edge of a teaspoon.
- If you can't have soy, use coconut aminos. If you can't have gluten but soy is fine, use tamari.
- Salt is not included in the nutritional breakdown because I have no way of knowing whether you'll use it, and if so, how much. However, if your sodium intake is something you're keeping an eye on, you can factor it in using something like Cron-O-Meter.
- This curry is not suitable for freezing.
- 1 cup = US cup = 240 ml
- 1 tablespoon = US/UK = 15 ml
- 1 fl oz = US = 30 ml
Marina
What volume is the tin of coconut milk please. Thanks
Nico
I am so sorry, Marina, I completely forgot to add the volume of coconut milk! It's 400ml / 14 oz. I've amended the ingredients list now - thanks so much for flagging it up! xx
Marina
Thanks. I am looking forward to trying this very soon.
Nico
I really hope you love it, Marina - it's one of my all-time favourites, and instantly transports me back to SE Asia whenever I make it! xx
Katie Bryson
This looks so comforting - I adore mild and creamy curries, as so my family!
Nico
They're the best, aren't they Katie?! And so family-friendly too! xx
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie
This just looks so my kind of curry...all the sorts of flavours I love, and not too hot! (I am a total wuss!!) I could happily eat a big bowlful of this!! 🙂 Eb x
Nico
Ha ha ha, we can be wusses together, Eb! I hope you try it - it's so delicious! xx
Corina
It looks beautifully creamy and the pictures are making me so hungry! I remember doing a one day Burmese cooking class in London about 6-7 years ago and I loved the flavours - I'm going to have to dig out the recipes we were given and remake some.
Nico
Wow, that sounds so cool, Corina, I had no idea there were Asian cooking classes in London, let alone Burmese ones. What did you make? I look forward to your blog posts! xx
Michelle Frank | Flipped-Out Food
The hole-in-the-wall, Mom & Pop restaurants are almost always the ones I seek out because they're ah-MAZING! Your experience in Myanmar sounds fantastic, as does this curry. I can't wait to make it!
Nico
Definitely - I'll always take a M&P over a tourist place any day. I hope you love the curry, Michelle! xx
Monika Dabrowski
This curry looks gorgeous and really not too complicated to make. It's no wonder you miss living in Chiang Mai! The good thing is you can actually recreate this wonderful food and make it completely your own too:)
Nico
Simple foods are the best, aren't they, Monika? One of the great things about making the kind of food I do is that it makes being away from places I love a little more bearable! xx
HowToCookThePerfectCurry -Dave
I love vegetable and fruit curries and this one looks well worth making. I look forward to trying it. I made a lovely mango, prawn curry yesterday and adapted it slightly from my blog recipe. Have you tried using mango, excuse me if you have as I haven't searched site,
Nico
Oh, me too, Dave. I'm rather fond of banana - both sweet and savoury ones - in curries too. One of the wonderful things about living in Asia is discovering new ways of cooking with familiar ingredients (e.g. using red beans and sweetcorn in dessert dishes).
Yes, I've used mangoes in curries too; I make a great Manga Masala, but I haven't blogged the recipe yet. I should fix that, eh?! Mangoes were a staple food when we lived in Asia.... but of course, they are so expensive in Europe, and have very little flavour, compared to the ones we used to get in Thailand and India.
Thank you so much for commenting - it's really lovely when people take the time to talk to me on my blog!
Rachel Cotterill
I really want to go to Burma - making a few Burmese dishes will do as a substitute for now 🙂 And I'm especially happy to have vegan recipes, thanks!
Nico
Hi Rachel,
Thank you for commenting. Since we weren't that far from the Myanmar border when we lived in northern Thailand, we actually did a border run there one time.
So glad you like the look of the recipe, have you managed to make it yet? Would love to hear your thoughts if/when you do.
Mel
Hi Nicole, that's an impressive spread of Burmese food and the eggplant curry looks fantastic!
Nico
Thank you, Mel! I really must have a go at making your recipe too! xx