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+ servings

Bitter Melon with Eggs (No Spam or pork)

Matt
Easy Okinawan dish that can be prepared in minutes. You can adjust the level of bitterness of the goya to your preference. It can easily be adapted to be vegetarian.
Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Course Appetizer, Breakfast, dinner
Cuisine Japanese, Okinawan
Servings 2

Ingredients
  

  • ½ fresh bitter melon (goya)
  • ½ onion
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 tbsp grass-fed butter
  • 1 tsp sesame oil
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1-2 pinches sea salt
  • 5 tbsp katsuobushi (bonito flakes)
  • 1 tsp nori dried seaweed powder

Instructions
 

Make dashi broth

  • Boil a ¼ cup of water.
  • Fill a cup with about 3 Tbsp katsuobushi (bonito flakes). Pour the hot water on top and let it sit.

Preparation of vegetable ingredients

  • Trim off both ends of the onion with a sharp knife. Cut in half, peel, and rinse in cold water.
  • Place onion face down (flat side) on cutting board. Cut lengthwise into ⅛ inch (3-4 mm) slices.
  • Rinse the bitter melon in cold water.
  • Cut the bitter melon in half lengthwise.
  • Using a metal spoon, scoop out the seeds and scrape off the inner white pith.
  • Turn over the bitter melon half so the skin is facing up. Slice into ⅛ inch (3-4 mm) thickness. Discard the tip (stem end).
  • Optional: To decrease the bitterness, sprinkle bitter melon slices with salt. Let it sit for 10 minutes.
  • After 10 minutes, rinse in cold water and drain well. Remove all the moisture.

Preparation of eggs mixture

  • Crack 3 eggs into a bowl. Mix with a fork or chopsticks, just like making scrambled eggs.
  • Add soy sauce and 1 Tbsp dashi soup stock (that you made earlier with katsuo-bushi and hot water). Mix together.
  • Put egg mixture aside.

Cooking bitter melon with eggs

  • Preheat frypan on low heat.
  • Add heaping tbsp of butter to fry pan.
  • As soon as the butter has melted (avoiding it turning brown), add onion slices to pan.
  • Cook onions at low to medium-low heat until they begin to caramelize. Stir with a spatula as needed to prevent burning.
  • Add bitter melon to frypan. Increase to medium heat to stir-fry. Stir often with a spatula.
  • Once both sides of goya begin to turn golden brown, push caramelized onions and bitter melon slices to one side of the fry pan.
  • Turn the heat all the way down.
  • Once fry pan has cooled down, add sesame oil to the free side of the fry pan. Let sesame oil heat up for 30 seconds.
  • Pour egg mixture into the free side of the pan, on top of the sesame oil.
  • Once egg mixture begins to cook, gently stir with a spatula to make fluffy scrambled eggs.
  • When eggs are almost cooked through (but still slightly runny), gently mix in bitter melon and onion.
  • Serve hot on a plate.
  • Garnish the top with nori seaweed powder and katsuo-bushi flakes.
Keyword Asian, bitter melon, easy, eggs, goya, Japanese, Okinawa, stir-fry, superfood
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