Wednesday, September 15, 2010

Stir fry bitter gourd with canned fried dace in black bean sauce - Featured in Group Recipes

This recipe is given to me by a good friend who is an excellent cook.  She is one of my line dancing mates.  This one falls into the category of quick and easy one dish meal.  It goes very well with both porridge and plain white rice. A suitable recipe for working couples who want a one dish meal that is easy and quick to prepare after a hard day's work.

If you do not like bitter taste, try to choose the lesser green and bigger bitter gourd because the smaller and greener ones are very bitter.  My mum always use bitter gourd as an anology for someone who doesn't smile and frown all the time.  She called that "foo kuah kon mien" (dried bitter gourd face) haha. I asked her why and she explained that the frowns look like the skin on the bitter gourd and usually with people do not smile but frown always, they can't be sweet right?  So start smiling more if not, very soon you will look like a dried bitter gourd lah! LOL!

On a serious note, Mum said  bitter gourd juice can lower blood sugar level.  She makes bitter gourd soup for us once in a while believing it will help maintain our blood sugar level. I asked her if it is so good, why can’t we have it more often?  She said we cannot over do and consume too much because it may cause mild abdominal pain or diarrhea. 

Stir fry bitter gourds with canned fried dace in black bean sauce



Ingredients

½ kg bitter gourd sliced (get rid of the seeds)
2 bibs chopped garlic
1 canned fried dace in black bean sauce (de bone the dace and shred into smaller piece)
1 red chilly (finely diced) or 1 ts red chilly padi if prefer real spicy
1 ts vegetable oil

Method

Heat oil in wok and add garlic.  Fry till fragrant and add bitter gourd, fry till it is slightly translucent.  Add fried dace in black beans sauce and stir fry till bitter gourd is limp. Add chilly and mix well and serve.

7 comments:

  1. I know how very "foreign" this recipe may sound to a Westerner, but if you wish to sample the tastes of S.E. Asian cuisine then this recipe is a great place to start. It is really the only recipe I know that plays on a taste sense that we normally avoid, bitterness. However, in this recipe the bitterness is not impoising and is, in fact, complimentary in a way that is simply not known in Western cooking.

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  2. Uh oh - i dont eat bitter gourd!! Cant get use to the bitter taste lah.


    have a lovely day
    jen @ passion4food.ca

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  3. Jen,
    This one, you bitterness is very discreet. Like I have said I am not crazy about bitter gourd but I love this dish:D

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  4. Hello from Turkey:)) Looks very nice!
    Upon returning home I have to try this dish !

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  5. denisdalya,
    Thanks for dropping by and hope you enjoy the dish:D

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  6. when I`m looking at this I`m really hungry :) with such delicious combo it must be awesome! I`m so glad I found your blog and I`m going to stop by your blog more often :)

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  7. Hi Paula, Thanks so much for checking out my blog and take time to leave our comment. It means a lot to me. I look forward to your visits.

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