Bitterness is Good for You

I’m trying to “detox” for a few days before the orgy of feasting, dining and wining begins in 12 days time, and which could potentially continue right up to 5 February next year, when Chinese New Year celebration ends!! My tastebuds leap in anticipation, but my digestive system shudders in horror.

Well, I did say “trying”, with the emphasis on the word “trying”. I had intended to start today… cut (or at least reduce) the sugar, i.e. less (preferably no) cookies and chocolates, cut the meat, and just more vege, fruits and complex carbs. (Those on Atkins or high protein diets, this is the cue to stop reading) Well, today was a non-starter… had some homemade smores (toasted marshmallows covered with bittersweet chocolate on graham crackers) and some chocolate cookies… Oh well, tomorrow is another day!

However, I’m going to make myself feel slightly better tonight by writing about some vegetable dishes. The Chinese have a saying: “the more bitter it is, the better it is for you”. And the bitter gourd is held by Chinese traditional medicine to have many health-giving and healing properties. It is said to be able to help with high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol and some forms of diabetes. It is also believed to be good for acne, eczema, psoriasis and other skin conditions. Very often, it is made into a tea (by boiling in water) and drunk much like a tincture. I think nowadays it even comes in tea bags for convenience! This is also said to be a great cure for a hangover – flushes out the alcohol from the system!

If I’m not wrong, it is the compound that gives the vegetable its distinctive bitter taste that makes it a very efficient detoxifying food substance. It “cleanses” the blood and digestive system.

This vegetable tastes a lot more palatable than it sounds. And its bitter taste can be easily removed (whilst still retaining its “cleansing” and “detoxifying” properties) by simply soaking it in some salt water for a few minutes after it has been cut. Just rinse well after the soak, and it’s good to go. It’s actually quite a versatile vegetable, and can be cooked in several ways:

- stir-fried with shallots and fish cakes (as in the above picture) or fresh fish slices
- stir-fried with garlic, ginger and fermented black soy beans
- stir-fried with spring onions and miso
- stir-fried with garlic, ginger and diced chicken
- stir-fried with garlic, ginger, thin slices of beef and a black pepper sauce

It is of course also a popular ingredient in “yong tau foo” where it is stuffed with minced fish or pork and either steamed or fried.

I also like it cooked sort of omelet-style…

Saute some shallots in hot oil to soften slightly. Add the bitter gourd slices and give it a good stir-fry. Season with salt and sugar. Cover for a few minutes to allow the gourd to soften somewhat.

In the meantime, lightly beat a few eggs and season with salt and pepper. Add to the gourd, making sure all the gourd is covered with egg. I usually allow the eggs to cook in one of two ways. Sometimes I make a sort of gourd-and-eggs “pancake” (as in the above picture). I allow the eggs to start to solidify into a “pancake” before flipping it to cook the other side. Other times, I like the egg sort of scrambled, so I start stirring the egg as it begins to cook and solidify, so that it forms soft, fluffy clusters of egg and gourd. (A little bit of water has to be added to the egg when it is beaten for the latter version).

Note: whilst preparing the bitter gourd, be sure to remove all the seeds and white “veining” on the inside of the gourd – these don’t taste good, at all. There’s no need to skin the gourd though.

And so a detoxifying we go....

Copyright © 2003 Renee Kho. All rights reserved.
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