Kanako's Kitchen

Goya (ゴーヤ – bitter melon) is among the bitterest of all vegetables. This delicious stir-fried main course marries the goya’s lovely bitterness with the texture of eggs and pork. You could add tofu, but here I prefer onions.

Goya champuru is a mainstay of the famous Okinawa Diet, arguably the  healthiest traditional diet on earth.

In Montreal, you can usually find goya at the inimatable Sami Fruit.

Ingredients (for two):

Two pieces of Goya (bitter melon)
100 g. Pork
One teaspoon of Dashi
Two Eggs
One Onion
Salt
1/4 cup of water
A bit of cooking oil

Preparation:

1. Cut off the goya’s ends and cut length-wise.
2. Scoop out the goya’s seeds with a spoon. Slice the shells thinly. (1 cm. slices.)
3. Sprinkle goya slices with a bit of salt.
4. Wrap goya in plastic cling film and microwave on top power for 2 minutes. (This process mildens the bitterness of Goya.)
5. Slice a little bit of pork (100 g.) as thin as you can.
6. Slice onions into thin wedges.
7. Crack open two eggs and homogenize gently with a fork. Try not to create foam.

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Cooking:

1. Coat wok or large frying pan with a bit of cooking oil and set on medium high heat
2. Stir fry the thin slices of pork for 1-2 minutes (until the color changes.)
3. Add onions and stir fry another 2 minutes
4. Add in the goya, and a little bit more salt, water and dashi
5. Keep stirring
6. When the water is absorbed, turn down heat to medium, then add eggs and keep stirring
7. In 1-2 minutes (once the eggs are cooked – but not dry) you’re done!

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Serve with soup and white rice.

For today’s lunch we had Goya champuru, wakame soup, white rice and Natto. (1soup-1dish)

Itadakimasu!