Do you have this kind of food in your country??
By lynettebyc
@lynettebyc (2416)
China
April 24, 2008 8:21pm CST
I cooked this morning, bitter gourd or bitter melon together with eggs in a fried pan. It's bitter just as its name, i dipped it in the tomato sauce and only by doing this can i swallow it. Do you have this kind of food in your country, how do you cook it? And how can i remove the bitter from its taste. I know bitter's good, it's good for diet if i want to lose weight, decrease fat in blood. I just can't get used to it. There are also white ones, so far i haven't see the white guys. Please share:)
3 people like this
8 responses
@SViswan (12051)
• India
25 Apr 08
We do use bitter gourd...and it is one of my favourite vegetables (lol..can't say the same for the rest of the family though!)
What I do to remove the bitterness is to keep the chopped or cut bitter gourd (I remove the centre part....cut the gourd down the centre and remove the inside part...and then cut it)....with a little salt and chopped onions for around half an hour before I use it. This takes off the bitter taste. It does have a little bitter taste then...but it's something that can be eaten. My now 7 year old son has been eating it since he was one year old. I usually cook it with the onions and the water that comes out of it too.
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@SViswan (12051)
• India
25 Apr 08
You don't have to put the onion inside the gourd. Just put the chopped or cut (I usually slice it) gourd and sliced onions in the same vessel with some salt and let it stand. It's not very bitter...but just the right kind...my kids don't even make a face when they have it. Since I use the same water too (water comes out of the gourd due to the salt)..I retain all the goodness of the gourd too. Try it...it's not bitter. I don't do anything...just one sliced green chilli and everything is cooked in 1 tsp of cooking oil (low flame). We have it that way.
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@lynettebyc (2416)
• China
28 Apr 08
So concrete. Thanks for sharing. I will try this as soon as possible and share you my results. Lol
@lynettebyc (2416)
• China
25 Apr 08
Thanks, i got it, first get the stuff in the theca out and then use the onion inside the theca one hour before use it. Curious, i'd have a try and see how bitter it is if i deal with it in this way. The bitterness might be alleviated, huh? But it has to be a little bit bitter, otherwise it's not bitter gourd.
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@Jemina (5770)
•
25 Apr 08
We call it "ampalaya" in my langauge and I like it fried with egg too. Here in the UK they don't have it. The white one is not as bitter than the small and green ones. Anyway, I like this type of vegetable. It is rich in vitamins and it's a very healthy food. Some people also call it bitter melon.
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@lynettebyc (2416)
• China
28 Apr 08
Hello, Jemina, thanks for sharing. So far i haven't fallen in love with this melon, need some time to get used to its bitter. Yeah, it's healthy, i'd try, lol
2 people like this
@youless (112593)
• Guangzhou, China
25 Apr 08
Yes, I have this kind of vegetable. It is a very common vegetable. However, I don't like it at all as it's bitter. Although others say it's not bitter, but I never think so. It is just bitter for me. No matter how to cook it, I won't like eating it anyway. On the contrary, my colleagues, friends and my family like it. Hard to believe. I know it's very healthy, but somewhat it tastes bad in my opinion.
I love China
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@lynettebyc (2416)
• China
28 Apr 08
Hello, youless, i love China too.:) Nice to meet my compatriot here in myLot. Wow, you have been here for such a long time~ I don't like the bitter too. But i think things will change as time goes by. Those foods i don't like before, i enjoy pretty much now. That's why i decide to have a try. And i'm curious why others like it so much, huh.
1 person likes this
@jhl930 (3601)
• United States
25 Apr 08
no i don't really eat that stuff for breakfast whenever i get up i usually just get something to snack on and just eat a lot for dinner or something like that...but most people just eat some eggs or something like that...and sometimes people will jsut go out for breakfast and see if hteyt can find something that they like...thats just what i do and others do
@lynettebyc (2416)
• China
25 Apr 08
I like cooking breakfast in the morning for myself, so i get up very early in the morning. Cooking porridge with different kinds of stuff, date, seed of Job's tears, red bean, green bean, rice etc. I really enjoying this, i'm of the opinion that it's money saving and healthy way. But if i'm too tired to prepare or just lazy to do this, i'd go outside
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@yona06 (585)
• Indonesia
25 Apr 08
We have those in my country too (I forget what it's called). My mom usually removes the seedy middle part and then slices it real thin. After that we marinate it with salt, pepper and a bit of sugar for half an hour and then stir fry it with chopped onions and garlic and a some water (just a little). Some smother it with something like fish paste and then steam it until it's really soft moist.
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@lynettebyc (2416)
• China
28 Apr 08
Wow, it's different. Smother it with fish paste? That's not a common way here, at least i haven't heard about it so far. Given the conditions permitted, i'd have a try, but maybe i can't get the very fish paste here in our supermarkets,huh?
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@Pookie_Pie (311)
•
25 Apr 08
I'm really not much help to you at all im afraid, because we dont eat gourds in England, let alone bitter ones! They dont sound very tasty at all!
You poor thing ~ i wouldnt want to eat anything that tasted bitter or nasty.. theres too many foods that do taste good! :)
Why not have something naice to eat, and take some herbal slimming pills? hehe just a thought :)
Hope you find a nice recipe soon,
xxx
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
28 Apr 08
hi lynettebyc I am in the usa and I have some Indian friends who are always talking about bitter melons and bitter gourds. We dont have them here but they tell me thy can be found in Indian markets here.I do not know just how you are supposed to cook them but are told by my indian friends that they are very good for you.
@lynettebyc (2416)
• China
28 Apr 08
Thanks. May be because India's near China, climate for this kind of bitter melon is much the same, who knows. Thanks for your share. Yeah, the bitter's good for our health. If you have the chance, try some and see what it tasts like.
@dhangski (3194)
• Philippines
25 Apr 08
We have this here in our country, the Philippines. We call it Ampalaya. There are so many recipe's that you can cook with this. You can saute it in garlic, onion and tomatoes and put some scrambled egg before it is done. Don't cover the pan while cooking this and don't stir it alot so the bitter taste will evaporate. Before you cook this immerse it first in hot water with a little salt then squeeze it. You can also cook it with beef, saute garlic and onion, then put the beef (sliced thinly) put some soy sauce and ground pepper, when the beef is tender put the gourd then simmer it for about 5 minutes. Try it, it really taste good.
@lynettebyc (2416)
• China
25 Apr 08
Hi, dhangski. Wow, a detailed recipe, thanks. I can't help trying it this evening. But the bitter's still there, isn't it. Then i'd try to like it, eh. I bought a recipe book which told how to cook it. After washing and cutting the bitter melon, ok, that's call it Ampalaya into pieces. Stir them with some salt and there put some ice water into it for 20 minutes. Here, please be noted that we need one Ampalaya and four chicken eggs. Break the eggs,let out the liquid into a bowl, put some salt, and mix them. 20 minutes later, put the Ampalaya piece into the egg solution. Then warm the pan, put oil, and add Ampalaya piece. That's done. You can also try this if you like
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