Anyone ever tried bittergourd?

Discussion in 'Fruit and Veg Gardening' started by jmarc, Nov 15, 2012.

  1. jmarc

    jmarc New Seed

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    My wife is from the philippines and has introduced me to a whole new group of vegetables. Anyone every tried bitter-gourd? It looks like a smooth, bright green cucumber with wrinkles. The vines grow like crazy. Gotta cook it well to get the bitterness out, but it's a well-known delicacy over there.
     
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  3. waretrop

    waretrop Strong Ash Plants Contributor

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  4. Frank

    Frank GardenStew Founder Staff Member Administrator

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    I love bittergourd, used to eat a lot of it during my time in Asia. It IS bitter though. Wish it was on the menu everywhere!
     
  5. mepooooo

    mepooooo New Seed

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    I also love bitter gourd. It is very common in Asia. When I tasted it for the first time I didn't liked it but when I tried it for the second time I found it tasty and now I love it.
     
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  6. KK Ng

    KK Ng Hardy Maple

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    Yummie!!! I love bitter gourd. It is delicious.

    Barb, cooking it is easy either stir fried with meat or fish. Fried with eggs like a pancake is also yummie and as a soup is also delicous. I'll try to post some Chinese recipes of cooking with bittergourd later. Maybe Jmarc can get his wife to post some Filipino bittergourd recipes would be great!

    Preserving bittergourd ... this has never come across my mind before so I googled it and found this http://www.grouprecipes.com/60652/pickl ... alaya.html
     
  7. oubee

    oubee In Flower

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    I love it fried! Add some onions just one minute before it's fork-tender and I could have it only with rice!
     
  8. ShelleyDN

    ShelleyDN New Seed

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    Try to de-bitter it by rubbing salt on thin slices and leave them for about 5 minutes. Squeeze the juice and saute the slices along with chopped garlic and onions then add beaten egg and stir fry it.
     
  9. KK Ng

    KK Ng Hardy Maple

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    ShellyDN, that is a great way to eat bitter gourd too but we do it without the onions. Sometimes we add in prawns/shrimp too!!!
     
  10. Hanbury House

    Hanbury House New Seed

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    I haven't tried it, but the local farmers market by me always has lots of booths selling it. From the replies in the thread, it sounds like it would be yummy.
     

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