INTRODUCTION

I have shared quite a number of simple household recipes and received rather favourable responses and this make me wanted to share more of what I have prepared at home at dinner table.

This is a dish that we cooked very often. One of the reasons is my wife is a bitter gourd lover and she is the one who created this dish. We have been eaten this dish since we set up the family about 15 years ago and for home cooked, of course recipe are easy and fast without any elaborate cooking procedures.

We can eat bitter gourd as it is without pre-treatment of the bitterness (including our young kids). I knew many people dare not to eat the bitter gourd because of the bitterness. For us, we just wash cut and cooked. However, for purpose of this post, I will share some techniques how  to reduce the bitterness of bitter gourd. Bitterness in a bitter gourd is due to an alkaloid quinine in the gourd that produce the bitterness. It is mostly concentrated in the white membrane at the core of the gourd. 3 of the most common way of reducing the bitter gourd bitterness is :

• To cut off the white membrane and leaving the only greenish flesh part. Note that using spoon to scrap off the white membrane is not adequate. If there is  a need, i will cut into small pieces and cut off the white membrane.
• Cut the bitter gourd into small pieces and soak in some saline or salt water for 10 minutes. Via osmosis process, the water will draw out the quinine which result the bitterness
• Blanch the bitter gourd in hot boiling water for 5 minutes to rid off the quinine or the bitter alkaloid.

Bitter gourd is also famous for its benefits to the body. Among the benefits are:

• Reduce sugar levels in blood and urine and hence beneficial to diabetes patient
• Treating blood disorders that causes boils, skin conditions due to toxaemia. Chinese believed it will clear blood toxicity.
• High beta carotene of bitter gourd can help in improving eye sight
• Bitter gourd aids in liver cleansing and hence beneficial to gout

“   中医 认为，苦瓜味苦，性寒；归心、肺、脾、胃经。具有消暑清热，解毒、健胃的功效。主要用于发热、中暑、痢疾、目赤疼痛、恶疮等。”（Source: https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8B%A6%E7%93%9C)

WHAT IS REQUIRED

Servings: 4-6 adult servings

• 1 medium to big size bitter gourd
• 400 grams of pork stripes (optional)
• 1 carrot, cut into short sticks
• 4 cm long ginger, shredded
• 2 cloves of garlic, sliced thinly
• 1 tablespoon of fermented soya beans or tau cheo
• 1.5 tablespoons of oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce

VEGETARIAN RECIPE

• 1 medium to big size bitter gourd
• 1 can of button mushrooms
• 10 fresh shitake mushrooms 
• 1 carrot, cut into short sticks
• 4 cm long ginger, shredded
• 1 tablespoon of fermented soya beans or tau cheo
• 1.5 tablespoons of vegetarian oyster sauce
• 2 tablespoons of dark soya sauce

STEPS OF PREPARATON

• Wash the bitter gourd, scrap off the core and cut into 4 cm x 2 cm stick size.

• In a pot, put 2 tablespoons of cooking oil, sauté the garlic and ginger until aromatic. Add the fermented soya bean and stir fry for 1 minute. Add the meat stripes, stir fry for 2-3 minutes until the exterior is set. Add the bitter gourd and carrot sticks followed by the oyster sauce and dark soya sauce. Stir fry for one minutes until the colour and even. Add about 1/2 cup of water and bring to boil. Once it boils, reduce the heat to medium and let it simmer until the meat and bitter gourd meet your desired textures. Adjust seasoning if required.

• Best to let it rest in the pot for at least one hour for the flavour to develop before serving with white rice.

Note

• Note that water is for your reference and depends very much on the size of your pot. However, it should cover about 1/2 of the meat plus vegetables. More juices will be secreted when the vegetables and meat were coked. You can always add more water if the water evaporated too fast.

CONCLUSION

An easy peasy dish and if you are running out of dishes to cook, you can try this favourite recipes of ours

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