Ginisang Ampalaya is a Filipino stir-fried bitter melon with an egg that is mixed with onion, garlic, and scrambled egg. It is a popular vegetable side dish in the Philippines which is perfect to eat with white rice.
When I was a kid, I was so ignorant about bitter melon and I tend to avoid eating it. That is because I find it bitter which made me lose my appetite. However, as time goes by, I started to enjoy eating this dish.
It became one of my favorite vegetarian dishes since it is delicious and nutritious. It is a very healthy dish since it can help reduce blood sugar in people with diabetes type II. Furthermore, it is one of the best vegetables to help you lose weight since it contains only 20 calories per cup.
My mother taught me a technique on how to make Ginisang Ampalaya less bitter yet very tasty. This vegetable is popular in Indian and in Southeast Asian cuisines, which they call it Bitter Gourd or Bitter Melon. But, in this post, I am cooking a Pinoy version of Stir-fried Bitter Melon with Egg
Recipe Ingredients
Making Ginisang Ampalaya is very easy and straight forward, which you only need 4 important ingredients: Onion, Garlic, Bitter Melon and Egg.
Lastly, I added salt and sugar when I am beating the eggs. It will help season the ampalaya or bitter melon as what others call it. That way, you don't need to add salt when you are almost done cooking.
How is the Bitter Melon Prepared?
First of all, you will have to remove all the seeds in the bitter melon. That is because we don't eat the seeds, and of course, they are very bitter. As you can see in the picture below on the left side, I remove the entire seeds including the white stuff.
Once you remove the seeds, sliced them into small pieces, and soaked it in the water. It must be soaked for 1 to 1.5 hours. It is because soaking with water can help remove the bitterness of the bitter gourd. It is useful for those who do not like eating bitter food.
Lastly, while it is soaked in water, I added 1 teaspoon of salt directly to the bitter melon. It helps further reduce the bitterness of those vegetables. If you don't like to soak the vegetable in the water, another option is washing the bitter gourd with salt and leave it there for 15 to 30 minutes. It will help remove the bitterness without soaking in the water.
What do you serve this dish with?
In the Philippines, when we cook Ginisang Ampalaya, we serve with other Filipino dishes and white rice, which is rare to eat this alone. As a half Filipino, it is a must to eat Ampalaya dish with white rice, and serve other meat or seafood dishes.
In my experience, here are other delicious Filipino foods that I paired with this vegetarian recipe:
Cooking Instruction
Cooking Ginisang Ampalaya with Egg is one of the easiest vegetarian side dishes in the Philippines.
Firstly, add vegetable oil to the pan. Once it becomes hot, add onion and garlic. Stir for few minutes or till it looks cooked. Next, add bitter melon and give a quick stir. Let it cook in low heat for 3 minutes.
Lastly, add the beating egg to the frying pan and stir like as if you are making a scrambled egg. Serve with white rice before serving.
To know the full detail of the recipe, here is the instruction below:
📋 Recipe Card
Ginisang Ampalaya with Egg Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 eggs
- 2 cups of raw bitter melon
- 2 tablespoon of vegetable cooking oil
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- 1 teaspoon of sugar
- 1 1 small onion (½ cup)
- 2 cloves of garlic
Instructions
- Add cooking oil in the frying pan in low heat. Once it is hot, add garlic, and stir it for up to 1 minute. Later, add the onion and stir it for few minutes till it turns light brown.
- Add the raw bitter melon in the frying pan, and stir it for up to 30 seconds. Covered it, and let it cook in low heat for to 3 to 5 minutes.
- While the bitter melon is being cooked; add two eggs, salt, and sugar in a small bowl and then put it in the frying pan. Mix it well like as if you are cooking a scrambled egg
Video
Notes
Nutrition
If you have any comments or questions, I will love to hear from you.
I love filipino food and can't wait to try this!
Thanks
Love how easy and simple this dish looks. Thanks for sharing how to prepare bitter melon too!
I am glad you like it. It is easy and healthy too
Such a great idea for making bitter lemon!
Agreed. Definitely you will love it.
Never tried Filipino food, but this looks and sounds appetizing.
They serve best with rice dish. It is a very nutritious dish.
Wow what a great read. This is a very unique recipe and I enjoyed reading about it!