Ginisang Ampalaya: Sauteed Bitter Melon

it's a bitter(sweet) symphony


Ampalaya or bitter melon is a fruit that has a lot of benefits.  Ampalaya can be consumed as food yet nowadays it has become more popular for its medicinal effects especially as an anti-diabetic.  Here in the Philippines, there are some vegetable dishes that include the bitter zing of the ampalaya to make the dishes an amalgam of flavors.

I love ampalaya.  Even though it is bitter, if it is cooked the right way, it wouldn't be as bitter as first perceived.  I love ampalaya cooked with eggs but for this recipe I decided to leave out the eggs and make this dish sort of vegetarian.

In order to make ginisang ampalaya, the following ingredients are needed:

ampalaya/bitter melon, sliced thinly
garlic, minced
onions, chopped
tomatoes, chopped
salt
pepper
oil

What I did was heat about a tablespoon of oil in a pan and sautéed the garlic, onions, and tomatoes.  I then added the sliced ampalaya and immediately added salt and pepper and cooked it until the ampalaya became a bit wilted from the heat.  That's all!  It's best served with freshly steamed rice!

Ginisang ampalaya is a healthy dish and it is so easy to prepare you have to try it out!