We are now approaching our final 2 weeks in the Philippines. I’ve got mixed feelings about leaving. I know I will miss some things here. And, in the spirit of not leaving too many things undone, I decided it was time to take on the “bitter melon” vegetable here known as: Ampalaya. This green vegetable reminds me of cucumber (a little) and also squash. What is it? I don’t really know, but I do know (having watched some Filipino cooking shows here and read a few of their culinary magazines) it has a reputation as a “love-it-or-leave-it vegetable,” because it has a lingering bitterness if it is not cooked properly. In fact, it is perceived as SO bitter that ampalaya is also called bitter melon in some places. Apparently it is better to cook this vegetable with some type of protein. I decided to make a tofu curry (with onions and garlic, yum) and I figured I could make the ampalaya separately…in case my preparation didn’t work out…so that way I could decide if I wanted to mix it in with the rest of the ingredients or not. And, of course, we’re serving this with rice, our go to grain. And, for fun, I’m including a few photos of the process. Stay tuned for the photos, I can't upload yet because the internet speed we have is too slow at the moment.
NOTE: Colleen REALLY does NOT like the taste of bitter. So, it wasn’t really worth gambling on this one, it was my first try at making it after all. Anyway, below is a recipe I found that seems like it might be good. So give it a try IF you can find some ampalaya . It’s a Filipino preparation of ampalaya with eggs.
WARNING: this vegetable does live up to its reputation in terms of how bitter it can taste. I followed the steps below (and maybe the water could have been hotter? The hot plate I used was maybe not quite good enough for medium heat?). Alas, the ampalaya turned out to be way TOO BITTER for our palates. And, so you’ll see that the final shot of our dinner omits the bitter melon and substitutes it with peas and carrots (which we had on hand). Oh well, at least I tried. Perhaps I’ll try again, maybe I need to do more research…
“Gisadong Ampalaya”
1. Cut the ampalaya into thin slices. They will look like crescent moons. (be sure to remove the seeds)
2. Liberally cover these slices with salt on all sides. That will help make them less bitter. Do not worry about using too much salt because the excess will be rinsed away.
3. Place the salted ampalaya into a colander, and rinse off the excess salt. Transfer the ampalaya to a bowl, and pour boiling water over it to cover. Let sit for 15 minutes. Drain the boiling water off the ampalaya, and let it sit while you prepare the eggs.
4. Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add the oil once the skillet gets hot. Let the oil coat the bottom of the pan, and then add the garlic and onions. Cook these until they turn translucent and become fragrant.
5. Add the tomatoes, ampalaya, and salt and pepper to the pan, and cook this mixture, stirring, for 10 to 15 minutes over medium heat or until hot.
6. Pour the beaten eggs over everything in the skillet, and stir the mixture until the eggs look slightly underdone. Remove the skillet from the heat, and serve immediately with additional salt and pepper, if desired.
As always, I applaud your adventurousness. I hope your next attempt (if there is one) is more successful, but, clearly, it can be difficult working in constrained circumstances (although that's all relative isn't is[?], I mean, some people would really envy you that hot plate). In any event, you can't like everything - I'm just impressed you gave it a try; I pretty much avoid anything with even a hint of a bad reputation.
ReplyDelete