adobong talong with breaded chicken fillets

prepared a quick lunch for today. it's getting real hot here in uae and feels like in a sauna when i'm in the kitchen. i can't even enjoy cooking and baking anymore because of the very hot weather. how much more for the next few months before winter starts... hhmmm... can't wait for winter. hehehe...

as for the quick lunch, i prepared adobong talong with breaded chicken fillets for makuy. this is quick even the chicken, i just used a ready breading mix for that.

for the adobong talong
ingredients:
1 pork belly slice, cut into thin strips
3-4 eggplants, sliced diagonally
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 onion, sliced
1 siling haba
1 bay leaf
5-7 peppercorns
3 tbsp. soysauce
3 tbsp. vinegar
1/3 cup water
1 tsp. brown sugar
salt and pepper

procedure:
place pork belly slices on a wok with a little water and salt. boil until water evaporates and pork render it's own oil. continue cooking until golden brown. take away the browned pork slices and drain excess oil on paper towels. set aside.

with the oil in the wok, saute onion and garlic until fragrant and onion is wilted. add the soy sauce, vinegar and water. let boil for a few minutes before mixing. add bay leaf, peppercorns and siling haba.

add the eggplant and mix to coat with sauce. you can add soy sauce, vinegar and water if you want to have more sauce. cook for 5 minutes or just until the eggplant is cooked but not too wilted or soggy. taste according to your preference. season with salt and pepper if desired.

for the breaded chicken fillets
ingredients:
1 chicken breast, deboned and sliced thinly
1 cup fruit cocktail syrup¹
ready breading mix²
cooking oil for deep frying

procedure:
marinate the chicken slices with the fruit coctail syrup for at least 1 hour or longer. drain very well and discard liquid.

heat the oil in a sauce pan.

dredge the chicken slices in the ready breading mix until coated well. shake off excess coating. deep fry until golden brown. drain on paper towel.

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¹ i have frozen the fruit coctail syrup i used when i made a fruit cocktail. that's why i decided to try it on the chicken. but you can use lemon or calamansi for this.

² if you don't have ready breading mix at hand, use cornstarch or flour, egg and breadcrumbs. just season your cornstarch or flour with salt and pepper.