Bitter gourd or ‘ampalaya’ in the Philippines is the source of a substance that is known to lower the glucose levels in blood. Therefore, they think that consumption of this fruit might be helpful in controlling hyperglycaemia, helpful for controlling diabetes. Depending on a variety of cultivars and specie, the bitter taste may also vary. However, I have noted that you can easily remove most if not all the bitterness by allowing the sliced fruit to be in contact with rock salt. The rock salt might increase the rate by which water may diffuse through the cells bringing with it the bitter compounds that may easily be rinsed. The remainder of water and salt that may have diffused into the tissues of the sliced fruit may be removed by gentle wringing out either on itself with bare hands or with the use of a cloth.
Ingredients:
1 pc. Ampalaya (large, seeded and cut into serving slices)
½ kg. Pork (ground)
1 tbsp. Fermented black beans
4 cloves Garlic (minced)
1 pc. Onion (medium, thinly sliced)
½ tsp. Black pepper powder
1 tbsp. Iodized salt
1 cup Tofu (cut into small cubes)
3 tbsp. Premium dark soy sauce
1 tsp. Sugar
1 tsp. Cornstarch
1/2 tsp. Sesame oil
½ cup Water for suspending cornstarch
1 cup Water
Cooking Instruction:
Heat the oil in a wok and sauté the garlic and onion until the garlic is golden brown and the onion starts to caramelize. Toss in the ground pork and stir. Cook for two minutes and add the the tofu soy sauce, sugar, black pepper, black beans, and water. Boil continue to cook at high heat for about 10 minutes. Add the ampalaya slices and lower heat to maintain a gentle simmer. Continue to cook for about 5 minutes more and again increase the heat. In a small bowl, place the cornstarch and add water, mix to suspend evenly the cornstarch (take care that no lumps of cornstarch remains). Add the sesame oil and mix well. Add this suspension into the cooking mixture and mix well. Continue stirring until the cornstarch is cooked. Enjoy with plain steamed rice...
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