Saturday, May 21, 2011

Spicy Stewed Bitter Gourd with Porkbelly Recipe

Owner Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky) SG ⌚ 7:53 PM
My Mom cooked this on 16th May, Monday. All of us, me, my hubby and especially my Dad find this very delicious!:D Messy, who can consider as 80% vegan, obviously don't like this. The few types of meat she eats are minced pork, fried pork and chicken that's all. Worse when she was younger!ONLY minced pork that's it!Imagine she would order a plate of chicken rice W/O chicken meat!LOL 
As for Cheeky, she's more of an omnivore but also depends on her mood. She LOVES roasted duck and chicken drumsticks, will request not to chop into smaller pieces because she says it's more delicious to hold the drumsticks and bite off the meat! Talking about this, there was one incident that happened few months back in Cheeky's school. She bit one of her classmates on her arm while watching TV show all of a sudden with no reason! When I reached her school, the teacher on duty told me about that and I was like "OMG! Not again!" I asked the teacher how's the little girl, was it serious, why did Cheeky do that? She told me it's minor, she had already applied some medication for her and the teeth's mark had subsided (PHEW!I was relieved to hear that!) but still not really sure of the reason as both of them don't wanna say. Teacher also mentioned that the girl dare not tell her when it happened, instead she told her softly when she went to the toilet!I WISHED THERE'S A HOLE RIGHT THERE!Is my girl really such a terror and a big bully!?  I asked Cheeky "Baby, why did you bite your friend?" She replied giggling "I thought it's a drumstick..." "DRUMSTICK??? Are you really that HUNGRRRRY???" Still giggling "No... I just thought that it's a drumstick..." What kinda reason was that!?  I was trying very hard not to laugh out and asked for the little girl, made sure that the bite was really not serious and made Cheeky apologized to her friend right in front of everyone. Telling them if she ever do that again, Mommy will pull out ALL her teeth!:(
That's not the first time Cheeky bite her friends and it can be very serious, this is why I'm very scared if I ever heard any complains from the school on this. Lucky from the day on, no such things happen again. :)
So sorry for my long long grandmother's story about my Cheeky. Let's go straight to my Mom's Spicy Stewed Bitter Gourd with Porkbelly now!
Spicy Stewed Bitter Gourd with Porkbelly
    Ingredients for 4-6 Pax :
  • 1 Big Bitter Gourd 
  • 500g Porkbelly (About 2 thick strips)
  • 1 Clove Garlic (Crushed with skin on)
  • 1 Tbsp Minced Garlic
  • 1 Tbsp Sugar
  • 1/2 Tsp Salted Minced Bean Paste (You can use chilli bean paste if you prefer it more spicy)
  • 1-2 Small Chillies (Cut thinly) Optional
  • Little Light Soya Sauce to Taste
  • 1 Big Bowl of Water
    How To Cook :
  1. Cut the bitter gourd into half lengthwise and take out the seeds using a spoon. Rinse clean, cut half lengthwise again and then into big pieces. Sprinkle some salt on cut bitter gourd, mixed well and leave on for about 20 mins, rinse off and drained. This is to make sure the bitter gourd is not too bitter. 
  2. Boil a small pot of water and 'wash' the porkbelly inside for a few mins. Take out, use a small knife to scrape the skin (you'll notice there is some white substance on the knife) and remove hairs if any. Rinse clean and cut into 1 inch thick.
  3. Use little oil on low heat in a non-stick pan, fry crushed garlic awhile, add in minced garlic, minced bean paste, cut chillies and sugar. Mixed well until browned.
  4. Add in porkbelly and stir fry for about 5 mins on medium heat.
  5. Next, add in bitter gourd and fry together for about 2-3 mins. If there is some liquid appear, cover for 1 min on low heat.
  6. Add in 1 big bowl of water, some light sauce to taste if necessary. Transfer all into a crock pot if you have. Bring to boil.
  7. Cover and let it simmer on low heat for about half an hr or until the porkbelly is tender. (Personally I prefer the skin of the porkbelly to be very tender, so usually I'll simmer for at least 45 mins.)
  8. Serve hot with plain rice.
Bitter gourd is known to helps in Diabetes and according to my parents, it helps to reduce body heatiness so whenever the weather gets too humid continuously for few days, we'll cook the bitter gourd soup with some meat for some flavor in soup and beaten eggs so that it's not so plain. ;)   

12 Foodies ➸:

KEcker on Mon May 23, 03:05:00 PM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

Lyn, it looks so good! I love pork belly, but have never tried bitter gourd. I think I can get it at some Japanese stores. Wait, is bitter gourd the same as bitter melon ok I'm officially confused...lol. I'm thinking of some bitter something that is popular in okinawa. I'm going to google it:-). What does bitter gourd taste like? Your drumstick story is very funny;-)

Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky) on Mon May 23, 05:11:00 PM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

Hi KEcker! Yes bitter gourd is also known as bitter melon. It's a very nice delish kinda bitter taste (sry I don't really how to describle the taste) if you know how to appreciate it's unique taste. Some may be more bitter than others so you need to season it with some salt for about half hr to ensure it's not so bitter.
I find that very funny too but of coz I can't possibly laugh my head off right in front of her and the whole sch if not she'll never learn and the sch will have bad impression of me thinking that I'm the mom who didn't teach her kids... LOL

PinayinTexas on Mon May 23, 11:41:00 PM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

Hi Lyn!
Great recipe as always...I love the combination of flavors!
I have a surprise waiting for you... Check it out on this post!

Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky) on Mon May 23, 11:46:00 PM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

Hi Tina! Tks for your lovely comment! :D
Oh another surprise! Now, besides my girls and hubby, you're another person who always surprises me! Tks! :D

Nami | Just One Cookbook on Tue May 24, 12:26:00 PM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

Ohhh pork belly and bitter melon! I'm not a big fan of bitter melon in Chiense/Asian dish, but with pork belly, I think it probably tastes good! I like the seasonings you chose. :-)

Manuela on Tue May 24, 06:17:00 PM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

Hi Lyn! Thank you for coming over to my site! I am so happy you did, as that lead me here... and what a lovely site you have! Full of interesting and delicious recipes! I love bentos, I think they are the cutest thing ever! Your girls look so cute too! :-)
I love this pork belly recipe, full of flavors!
I'll be back for sure! :-)
Manu (Manu's Menu)

Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky) on Wed May 25, 01:39:00 AM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

@Nami--I used to dislike bitter melon and porkbelly when I was young too but now they're my fave! :D
This really taste good! A passed down recipe from my mom :D

Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky) on Wed May 25, 01:42:00 AM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

Hi Manu! Tks for taking the chance to visit my blog and your lovely comments! So nice to know you and your awesome blog! Love all the recipes that you shared especially the Indian foods! See ya around! :D

Biren on Thu Oct 13, 02:57:00 AM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

This sounds delicious Lyn! Bitter gourd is definitely an acquired taste but I like it, especially with bean sauce and pork.

Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky) on Thu Oct 13, 07:20:00 PM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

@Biren Tks Biren! My whole family loves this dish a lot (except for the gals) esp my parents and my younger sis. It's her fave since young and for me, it's only when I'm older than I started to appreciate the taste of bitter gourd. ;)

Quay Po Cooks on Tue Oct 18, 10:47:00 AM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

My mum make this dish quite often and I love it!

Lyñ (My Little Messy N Cheeky) on Wed Oct 19, 05:07:00 AM GMT+8 said... Best Blogger Tips

@Quay Po Cooks Glad you love this dish too! It's the most blissful to have mom's cooking and I'm only left with about 10 more days to enjoy that before moving out on our own... ;(

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