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Tuesday, September 3, 2013

Bitter Melon Sauteed with Eggs


Bitter Melon Sauteed with Eggs

(Ginisang Ampalaya na may Itlog)

Ampalaya, also known as Bitter Melon, is a crawling vine that grows well in tropical countries, particularly in the Philippines. The term Ampalaya refers to both the plant and its fruit, which is elongated, green and has a rough and rumpled skin. Known for its bitter taste, the Ampalaya is at once a staple ingredient in Filipino and Asian cuisine and a reliable home remedy for various illnesses, particularly diabetes. ( source: http://www.charantia.com/about-ampalaya/)

Today, I'm so inspired to share the recipe that I hated back when I was a kid and ended up falling in-love eating it growing up. My parents loved to plant fruit and vegetable and one of them is Ampalaya or also known as Bitter Melon. My Mom loved to cook this dish and always served during breakfast before going to school and often she packed this for school lunch as well. I don't really like Ampalaya because of its notorious bitter taste, I ended up eating the eggs and left the slice Ampalaya behind on my plate. Nowadays, I can't find it so often at grocery store but if I do, I'll make sure that I grab some and make this dish. I just simply loved it, I think... it taste better and better once you get used to it. My kids tried them and of course!!... they don't like it, they just ate the eggs and left the bitter melon behind..(hahahha) It's kinda funny that I used to do same thing when I was a kid..wink
Below is my version of Bitter Melon sauteed with Eggs recipe, please feel free to do your own twist and style of cooking. Enjoy and have fun cooking!!



* How to get rid of bitterness of Ampalaya
- Sliced the Ampalaya lengthwise, remove the seed by running the spoon inside the seed cavity.
- Put the thinly sliced Ampalaya in a big bowl, sprinkle with some salt.
-Let it set for couple minutes, then squeezed the ampalaya until all the liquid comes out.

* My Mom practiced this method every time she made this dish; It works out great. Also don't over cooked the Ampalaya to avoid the super bitter taste. 


Ingredients:
1 medium size bitter-melon/ampalaya- thinly sliced
3 eggs- beaten
1 small onion- chopped
1 garlic- minced
1 tomato- slice
Salt and Pepper- to taste
2 tsp. cooking oil

Directions:
1.) Put oil into the large skillet. Sauteed the onion,garlic and tomato until translucent;
2.) Add the slice bitter-melon ans let it cook for like 5-8 minutes.
3.) Add the beaten eggs into the skillet; Salt and pepper to taste. Let it set for 2 minutes or until the eggs is cooked.
4.) Best serve with hot rice. Enjoy!



Notes:
-Taste according to your preference.
- Used whatever method you know to get rid of bitterness of Ampalaya.
- Shrimp paste is great addition to this recipe, feel free to add some if you have it on hand.




45 comments:

  1. Ang sarap naman! I didn't grow up with this dish kasi walang nagluluto ng ampalaya sa amin, pero when I tasted it sa baon ng kaklase ko nung highschool, I liked it. Hehe. Paminsan minsan we have ampalaya pag bumibili sa carinderia but none of us has tried to cook it, baka kasi bitter pag kami nagluto. Thanks for the tip!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Welcome! Masarap nga minsan minsan, I do love to buy it some carenderia before sarap sa kanin. Thanks:)

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  2. Looks so yummy! Like you, i did not like ampalaya when I was a kid. But, now, I like it a lot! We don't do anything about the bitterness, though. I don't mind it. And, surprisingly, even my two-year-old likes ampalaya! Even the ensaladang ampalaya which is raw. :D Haha! I'm one lucky mom.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are one lucky Mom! I'm giving it to my kiddies every once in a while t get used to the bitterness. I don't mind the bitterness either as long not over cooked I'm good with it. Thanks:)

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  3. i also do that trick to remove the bitterness of the ampalaya, effective siya! like you, i grew up with this dish, too, but eversince i was a kid, i have always liked ampalaya kasi, kaya no problem getting rid of the slices when eating this dish, hahaha. like marielle, my little boy eats ampalaya, too, like when i mix it with pinakbet for example. he's only one year old, i'm one lucky mom, too. hihi! he's not a picky eater. :-)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Mom always do that trick kaya till now ginagawa, hindi naman talaga mawawala yung pait pero it lessen.. Your one lucky Mommy, my kiddies is not really into ampalaya, its really good with pakbet too.:) Thank you, sis

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  4. This is one of my favorite dishes! :D Before when I was not watching what I eat, I'd put pork taba in there. hahaha

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    Replies
    1. One of my close friend here do the pork taba mixed with ampalaya and then shrimp paste.. really good too:) Thanks

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  5. Hi Melgie,

    I always thought that bitter melon is the Chinese kind of food to eat and didn't know that it is also popular to eat in Philippine too. I was told that bitter melon is good to improve diabetes and high blood pressure... You must be feeling good after eating this delicious and healthy dish :D

    Zoe

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is popular in the Philippines, It grows everywhere. Thank you, Zoe:)

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  6. I thought ampalaya is also called bitter gourd hehehe, bitter melon din pala. basta ata may bitter :D

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Your right it also called bitter gourd, bitter cucumber for some, and bitter melon.

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  7. Btw, dati akala ko din nakakawala ng pait ung asin at squeeze, pero I realized hindi rin, minsan mas pumapait pa. Kaya d na namin inisqueeze. pero dapat pag hiniwa matalim ung knife and dapat d halo ng halo sa ampalaya.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It only lessen the bitterness, sometimes I don't squeeze only when its thinly sliced. I think sharp knife do the trick as well. Thanks:)

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  8. ang sosyal naman ng english name ng ginisang ampalaya na may itlog.. i like this dish. we usually pair it with fish yum yum yum

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Oo nga eh, parang sweet sa pandinig. Ako din I like it a lot especially with fried fish..yum! Thanks:)

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  9. what a fun recipe! thanks for sharing!

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  10. sadly, this is one of the veggies i cannot stand to eat until now. hehe! pero ang bango niya pag niluluto pa.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Masarap nga yung amoy niya pag niluluto pah. Thanks:)

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  11. It looks delicious! I've never tried the dish or bitter melon before so I don't know if I'd love it... but it sounds like a favorite for quite a number of the folk commenting. :-)
    Eliz

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It taste little different in a good way. I do love it. Thanks!:)

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  12. I also like eating ampalaya now. I can still remember when I cried as a child because my mom is telling me to eat ampalaya. It's difficult for me to encourage my kids except for my eldest son - surprisingly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. same here..:) but I'm glad that I love to eat this kind of food..:)

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  13. I like it with meat or shrimp, too! By the way, I really love your new header Melgie!

    ReplyDelete
  14. I love this dish. I even remember during our highschool HE class, we are required to cook this as part of our lunch in one of our practical exam.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I love this dish too, I always remember that in our cooking day palaging kaming pinapadala ng gulay isa na dun yung ampalaya.

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  15. Im not a big fan of ampalaya but to be honest i really miss this type of food. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I was too before but I started to love them..:) Thanks Leah:)

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  16. I'm not a big fan of ampalaya too, but I wonder if my husband will like this one. Will have to try it Insha Allah God willing soon.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It is bitter in a good way. I hate it before but now I'm loving it:) Thank you sis:)

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  17. I like this when there's aji-ginisa.. The bitter taste disappears. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I do to, it just taste better compare to just salt and pepper.. nakakamiss naman ang aji-ginisa:)

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  18. I used to hate eating ampalaya because I find it bitter. So what my mother did before is to quiz it's juice to reduce the bitterness. That made me love ampalaya little by little and now even it's not squeezed, I love to eat it na kahit it's bitter pa. I love it with egg and tomatoes too.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My Mom squeeze the ampalaya juice too, and I started eating them and now I can eat it without squeezing the juice, masarap nga. Thank you, Maye:)

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  19. Hubby and I love sauteed ampalaya too. Aside from egg and tomato, we also add pork. :)

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  20. For a while, I forgot bittermelon is ampalaya. I like ampalaya with eggs. Thank you for the recipe.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. same here, I think this is what I'm gonna make for breakfast today:)

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