Ampalaya Con Carne

Bitter Melon With Beef

Ampalaya is bitter melon or Bitter gourd. Con carne is “with beef” (meat in Spanish).  Now, I don’t know how a Chinese dish was named in Spanish and even the Chinese restaurants in Manila call it by that name. 

It is a very popular dish in Chinese restaurants in the Philippines.  It is comparable to the popular Chinese dish, Beef with Broccoli here in the States.  In fact, just replace the broccoli with bitter melon and you got it!

It is very seldom to find bitter melon sold at even the better American grocery stores in the Houston area that carry Asian vegetables but it can be found all year at Asian super markets. 

Prepare the other ingredients for cooking.  You will need:

• 1 scallion (green onion), white part cut 2” long and slivered.  Cut the green part diagonally.
• 1 bitter melon (regular size)
• 2 TBS. cooking oil
• 1 TBS cornstarch
• 1TBS fermented black beans (optional). Hydrate the dry fermented black beans in a few tablespoons of water.  Let stand for a few minutes.
• Or, use Black bean sauce in the jar, with garlic or with chili
• 1TBS Oyster Sauce
• 1 TBS Light soy sauce
• ¼ cup water
• 2 dried red chilies cut in halves (optional)

Cut the bitter melon in half lengthwise.  Scrape the seeds with the pulp down to the hard inner membrane of the fruit using a spoon.  Cut diagonally about ½ “ thick.  

Separate the meat from the marinade letting most of the liquid drip back in the marinade bowl and put the meat in a small bowl containing the cornstarch. Reserve the marinade.  Coat the meat with the cornstarch, mixing with your fingers to ensure all surfaces are coated. Set aside.

Add the Oyster sauce, soy sauce and water in the bowl containing the reserved marinade and set aside. 

Heat a small wok or skillet.  Add the oil and spread it around the surface of the wok.  Drop the meat when the oil is heated and sauté the meat for about 1 minute.  Drop in the drained black beans; continue stirring, pressing the black beans to incorporate with the meat.  Drop in the scallion (both white and green), stir a few times then add the reserved marinade with the soy sauce mixture.  Drop in the bitter melon and the dried chilies if using and stir a few times. Heat thru until bitter melon is crisp tender.  If the sauce is too runny, dissolve 1 TBS cornstarch in 1 TBS water and add a little at a time to the sauce.  Boil until it thickens.  Taste and season accordingly.  If it is too salty, add ¼ tsp. sugar.