Name: Sautéed Bitter Melon, Tomato, Shrimp, and Egg (Ghee • nee • SAHNG ahm • pah • lie • YAH)
Yield: Serves 2
Cuisine: Filipino
Ingredients: ½ red onion, cut in half then cut lengthwise into ¼-inch (6 mm) slices; 4 ounces (115 g) shrimp, shelled, deveined, and cut in half or, if small, leave whole (optional); 2 teaspoons olive oil; 1 clove garlic, smashed into a few pieces; Kosher salt; ¼ bitter melon (2 ounces/55 g), ends removed, deseeded and cut into half rings; Finely minced chives, for garnish; Steamed rice, for serving; Fish sauce or Vegan “Fish Sauce” to taste; 1 large egg; 1 small, very ripe tomato, cut into 1-inch (2.5 cm) chunks, with any juice from the cutting board reserved

Preparation info

Serves
2

Difficulty
Easy

Appears in

Filipinx

By Angela Dimayuga and Ligaya Mishan

Published 2021

About

Ampalaya, or bitter melon, is beautiful: green, bumpy, and vaguely reptilian, like an embryonic dragon. True to its name, it’s profoundly bitter. When I was growing up, it definitely seemed like food for adults. Still, I had fun preparing it, running my fingers over its rough Braille, cutting it in half lengthwise and then scooping out the white pith and seeds, or shaving it super-thin on a mandoline and adding salt to make a pickle.

It was Chinese