There are many health benefits from consuming bitter gourd (bitter melon). Bitter gourd tastes like its name – bitter. Never understand why anybody would eat the bitter melon but it has been the older Asian mothers favourite dish at home despite the husband and children do not like it at all.
I was fairly surprised when my father and my brother started ordering bitter gourd dish at restaurants. I then realised that bitter gourd is good for my father’s diabetic condition, it lowers the blood sugar level. As for my brother, he must have grown mature enough in his taste bud to enjoy the bitterness of bitter gourd.
Often I buy the odd vegetables that was never my favourite but they look so fresh, I have to buy them for my dinners. Bitter gourd was one of them. It was looking fresh in light green, looking delicious, waiting for me to pick up them up. And I did.
The first recipe that came into my mind was bitter gourd with eggs. I had them in restaurant and it was very memorable. We love eggs anyway. So, this is how to cook the bitter gourd with eggs (to serve with rice).
Ingredients (for 2):
- 1 small bitter gourd (or quarter of a big one)
- 2 eggs – whipped with 1 teaspoon of light soy sauce
- 2 cloves of garlic – chopped
- some salt
- cooking oil
Firstly, cut bitter gourd into half, use a spoon to remove the seed. Then cut them into slices (see right photo) and place them in a sieve. Sprinkle 1/2 tablespoon of salt over them in order to “degorge” the bitter melon, leave it for 15 minutes. Through the process of “degorg-ing” the melon, it will become less bitter. Rinse them after 15 minutes.
Heat up a wok/pan with one tablespoon of oil. Add in the bitter gourd. Stir fry for about 2 minutes, you will see the bitter gourd lightly change in colour and become softer. Add in the garlic and continue to stir fry until fragrance. Add a little (1-2 tablespoon) water if need to speed up the process of cooking.
Spread the bitter gourd evenly on the wok/pan, add 2 tablespoon of oil and then add the whipped egg over the melon. Let the egg cook for 20 seconds on medium high heat. “Cut” the eggs into smaller pieces with the frying ladle and flip them over. Let it cook for another 20 seconds. Serve on plate.
Usually I don’t add any more salt in the cooking as some salt will be absorb into the bitter gourd during the “degorg-ing” process. I hope you will enjoy the taste of bitter gourd as I do. You can of course eliminate eggs in this cooking process and stir fry bitter gourd only if you like it on its own.
My taste, his taste 