Ampalaya aka Bitter Gourd or Bitter Melon

Ampalaya is a vegetable grown throughout the Philippines.  It is mostly cultivated, although some grows wild in the remote areas. It has a bitter due to the presence of momordicin.  The leaves are also widely used for cooking. The bitter gourd or bitter melon has a distinct warty looking exterior and an oblong shape.  It is hollow in cross-section, with a relatively thin layer of flesh surrounding a central seed cavity filled with large flat seeds and pith.  Seeds and pith appear white in unripe fruits, and turns red as it ripens.  They are not bitter and is removed before cooking. The flesh of the ripe bitter melon is tough to be eaten.  It is best to cook the bitter melon when it has not ripened.

The red and sweet bitter melon pith is a popular ingredient in some special Southeast Asian style salad. The flesh is crunchy and watery in texture similar to a cucumber, chayote or green bell pepper. The skin is tender and edible. The fruit is often eaten at its best when it is green and unripe. It may be eaten when it has ripened but it becomes bitter and mushy.

Bitter melon comes in a variety of shapes and sizes. Some maybe oblong with tapered ends and paler green color like those found in China.  The bitter melon typical of India has a narrower shape with pointed ends, and a surface covered with jagged, triangular “teeth” and ridges. The color may vary from green to white. This may be served individually as stuffed vegetables.

The bitter taste of the bitter melon can be moderated by salting and then washing the cut melon before use. Or it may be cut according to desired size and can be soaked in tap water minutes before it is cooked. The bitter flavor is typically used in Chinese cooking by stir frying and served with oyster sauce.  In Indian cooking, it is often fried and then stuffed with other spicy ingredients. In Indonesia, bitter melon is prepared in various dishes like stir fry, cooked in coconut milk or steamed. In Vietnam, it is cut in slices and served raw and eaten with dried meat floss. It is served stuffed with ground pork.

In the Philippines, bitter gourd or bitter melon is popularly known as the ampalaya. It is often stir-fried with ground beef and oyster sauce, or with eggs and diced tomatoes.  A very popular dish from the Ilocos region of the Philippines, pinakbet, consists mainly of bitter melons, eggplants, okra, string beans, tomatoes, lima beans and other various regional vegetables stewed with fish sauce. The young shoots and leaves may be eaten as greens.