A Chinese expression says if one could take the bitterest, one could be the man above men. That's what mums tell their children when the latter have the first taste of bitter melon, which is called goya and fu gua in Japanese (Okinawan dialect) and Cantonese respectively. Like the pork in the previous post about Okinawan food, bitter melon is often served in Okinawan eateries and the ways of cooking are strikingly similar to that of Cantonese.
I ordered bitter melon with scrambled eggs and spam. Bitter melon dices are crunchy, eggs half-cooked while the blocks of spam are charred with crispy edges. Definitely a dish for summer.
Naoko has reproduced the dish, using bitter melon here:
We found out that Chinese bitter melons are bitterer that its Japanese cousin. So the expression in the first paragraph maybe only be applicable to Chinese bitter melons.
As a Mexican I'm not used to bitter melon's flavor. Therefore I try to eat it as less as possible. However I must recognize that there are some dishes that taste good with bitter melon. Maybe if I add some spicy sauce or something will help me eat it more.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Okinawans also drink b. melon juice?
ReplyDeleteEric, I did not see any bitter melon juice. But they do drink bitter melon tea.
ReplyDelete