Stir-Fried Bitter Gourd With Shrimps 苦瓜炒虾

Stir-Fried Bitter Gourd With Shrimps 苦瓜炒虾

 

Tastes heavenly with porridge on a hot and sunny day

 

Bitter gourd is not a popular vegetable with many people because of its bitter taste. However,  my family loves this dish especially my daughter and my eldest son. Both of them tend to specifically request for this home-cooked dish of stir-fried bitter gourd with shrimps in oyster sauce, whenever they came home after a stint abroad. This dish goes very well with rice and even better with porridge. We Chinese believe that the bitter gourd has medicinal properties of cleansing the body and ridding it of  toxins. On top of that, it has a "cooling " effect on one's body.

Sharing tips and pointers as I prepare the ingredients......

I bought this very fat, nice and half-ripen bitter gourd which is free from dents and blemishes.  The grooves are far apart which means this bitter gourd will not be too bitter as compared to those which are narrow and green.  I prefer half-ripen bitter gourd as it tastes better, well to me anyway!

Ripe or half-ripen bitter gourds have red seeds inside. Cut the bitter gourd into two halves length-wise and remove the seeds and  pith

Slice the bitter gourd into very thin slices

Next, remove the shells of the shrimps.....

Then you cut a slit along the back of the shrimp and remove the vein

Ingredients

500g bitter gourd

200g shrimps ( nett weight after removing the shells )

1 tbsp minced garlic 

3 tbsp cooking oil

Sauce A

3 tbsp of oyster sauce

1 tsp salt

2 tsp sugar

Dissolve the above 3 ingredients in 1 rice bowl of water

Thickening solution

Mix 1 tsp of cornflour with 1 Chinese soup spoon of water

Cooking instructions

1. Heat wok till very hot

2. Add in cooking oil

3. When the cooking oil is hot, add in the minced garlic

4. Saute until fragrant, add in the shrimps and stir fry for 1 to 2 minutes

5. Add in the sliced bitter gourd and stir fry quickly to mix evenly 

6. Add in sauce A and let it boil until the bitter gourd turns soft. If the water is insufficient just add more

7. Add in the thickening solution and stir well for another minute

8. Dish up and serve

The combination of flavours is unbelievably good