Goya Recipes include this Japanese Chanpuru version
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Goya, bitter melon or gourd, is a surprisingly popular vegetable in Britain, but you may know it better as: caravella, carela, kugua, bitter melon, currant, caraille, cerasee or kudret narı. This delicious vegetable is available in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, South East Asia, the Caribbean and South America. So you should be able to find it in most regional grocery stores that have a fresh vegetable section. Goya is also used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine, so it can sometimes be found in health food stores.
Goya recipes are prepared in the summer in January because goya, as it says, tries to bring warmth among other claimed medicinal and health benefits.
Chanpuru is a speciality of the Okinawan region of Japan and is a stir-fried dish of rich green goya, soy sauce, tofu, pork and egg. Chanpuru means stir-fried. Surprisingly, the term comes from the Indonesian word campu r , which also means ‘mixed’. In addition to goyale itself, this recipe contains tofu and pork as the main ingredients. You can also add other Vegetable Recipes such as carrots, green beans and beans.
Goyal has a delicious, light and bitter flavor, but if you are not into some strong flavors, you can soak the bitter melon in hot water for 30 seconds before stir-frying. Oyster sauce can also help counter the bitter taste.
A quick interactive search on bitter melons reveals known effective uses for medicinal purposes, from treating infections to digestive problems and even treating type 2 diabetes and cancer. Surely you’ll eat up the wonder that fruit at a young age has to help prevent any of these even sometimes deadly ailments from starting.
Tip: try adding Goya Chanpuru to misoyaki sauce. To make the sauce, make the following: 2 tbsp. miso, 2 tbsp. sake, 1/2 tbsp. sugar and 1 tsp. soy sauce.
What you need
1 goya (bitter ginger) 1 block cotton tofu (dried) 1/4 lb. Thinly sliced pork (cut into bite-size pieces) 2 eggs (beaten) 2 tsp. soy sauce 2 tsp. sake Dash of salt (or to taste) Dash of pepper (or to taste) Vegetable oil for frying
How to make it
Cut the goya in half lengthwise. Remove seeds with a spoon. Tilt the goya gently and place the cake slices in a bowl. Sprinkle salt over them. Let them sit for about 10 minutes. Wash the goya slices and clean well. Tilt them to remove excess water. Heat about 1 tbsp. vegetable oil in a large pan. Stir in the pork and cook with salt and pepper. Add goya slices and cook until softened. Peel the tofu into large chunks and add to the bottles. Gently mix with the fried pork and goya. Season with sake . Pour over beaten eggs and stir quickly. Season with soy sauce. Stop the heat. Adjust the taste with salt.
