Without chili
With chili
Not everyone likes bitter gourd. But Bitter Gourd Fried with Pork Slices in Minced Bean Paste is a common dish in our household. It is appetising due to the various flavours that one can discern upon the food entering the mouth - saltiness (from the tauchu), sweetness (from the pork and also the tauchu), spiciness (from the chili padi) and a bit of bitterness (from the bitter gourd).
Most of my dishes involve very simple and fast cooking, making them very suitable for busy working ladies. And this dish falls into this category.
To cook it, you need the following ingredients:
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 200 g bitter gourd (half of a medium size bitter gourd or a third of a big bitter gourd), sliced thinly
- 150 g lean pork slices
- 2 tsp minced bean paste (tauchu)
- 1 piece chili padi (optional), cut into small pieces
- some water.
The method:
- Saute the garlic.
- When garlic is fragrant, add in the pork slices.
- Add in the chili padi.
- When pork slices are half-cooked, add in the bitter gourd and stir.
- Add some water to the bitter gourd (just enough to cover the the bitter gourd and pork slices).
- Let the water simmer till it recedes to half the initial amount.
- Add in the minced bean paste.
- Give the ingredients a good stir.
- Dish out and serve it with hot rice.