I consider myself lucky to live close to Galveston bay where I can buy fresh small shrimp for cooking dishes like this. But I still miss the true Filipino way of cooking this dish using the very tiny baby shrimp we call “fresh alamang”, the same tiny baby shrimp they ferment to make bagoong. The canned or bottled “ginisang alamang” sold at Asian markets doesn’t cut it.
What you will need:
- 1 large bittermelon or 2 small ones
- 1 or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- ½ of a medium onion, diced or minced
- 1 small tomato, diced
- About ½ lb. small shrimp with shell
- Salt, pepper
- Oil for sautéing, or bacon grease
Wash the bittermelon and cut in half lengthwise. Scrape the seeds and most of the inside with a spoon. This is where the bitterness is. Wash again and slice thinly at an angle. Set aside. Some people salt it to extract some of the bitterness out but I don’t do it.
Shell the shrimp and set aside, reserve the shells and heads, if any, to make a stock for later use. Simmer the shells and heads in about 1 cup of water and set aside.
If the shrimp you bought are already shelled, you can use 1 cube shrimp bouillon. Or, you can cook this dish without the shrimp, just the bouillon that I sometimes do.
Sauté the garlic, onion and tomato. Add the shrimp and cook until pink. Add about ¾ cup of the strained broth from the shrimp shells. Let boil, add the bitter melon and cook until just tender, about 1 minute. Add salt and pepper. If using shrimp bouillon, add ¾ c water then the bouillon. Season to taste.
Kusina ni Norie 
You must be logged in to post a comment.