In the list of low cholesterol foods in some Asian countries, bitter melon is considered the value fruit that help to reduce blood pressure effectively. Bitter melon is called bitter gourd also. It belongs to the Cucurbitaceae family that is same with squash, cucumber or watermelon. The fruit is considered to have the origin from Southeast Asia region.
Bitter melon is arranged in the list of low cholesterol foods because it contains the phyto-nutrient and polypeptide-P. These factors are considered the natural insulin effected to blood pressure. And bitter melon may help to lower the blood pressure level in the case it is used regularly.
The bitter melon is a very popular ingredient in the menu of Asian people. The fruit is bitter but it is good for health in different aspects not only as a low cholesterol food.
There are many dishes that cooked with bitter melon as a main ingredients and fried ripe bitter melon with tofu is one of them. To reduce the biter in the dishes, there are different ways to solve it. And one more tips for reducing the bitter is that to use bitter melon when it turns to be ripe.
The fried ripe bitter lemon with tofu is considered one of the good ways to cook the low cholesterol foods as bitter melon for whom who start to use this fruit. Tofu is soft combined with ripe bitter melon to be become a gentle dish more than the challenge caused of bitter.
If you concern about the recipes that may help to lower blood pressure or challenge yourself with an interesting recipe with bitter melon, fried ripe bitter melon with tofu is the good choice to do.
Prepared and cooking time: 17-22 minutes
Serves: 3
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bitter melons
- 2 firms of tofu/2 silken tofu
- 1/3 teaspoon of ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon of oyster sauce
- 1 spoon of soy sauce
- ½ teaspoon of salt
- A pinch of MSG/ vegetarian seasoning
- ½ spoon of sugar
- Green onions
- Shallots
- Vegetable oil
Directions
- For the ripe bitter lemons: clean them, cut in haft and take their core out, then cut diagonally into 4-5 cm pieces.
- For the green onions: cut into 4-5cm pieces.
- For the shallots: chop them fine.
- For the firms of tofu: dice them into 3cm pieces
- Heat the pan, add the vegetable oil and fry the chopped shallots. They turn to be light brown, add the bitter lemons and stir them gently. Add salt, stir them and wait for 5-7 minutes or the bitter lemons that be cooked in time.
- Add the tofu, stir them gently and add spices with the soy sauce firstly and then oyster sauce, MSG or vegetarian seasoning and the sugar lastly. Stir them again and wait for 2-3 minutes. Taste them if it is as your taste then keep the low heat for 5-6 minutes. After 5-6 minutes or the bitter lemons are fine, add the green onion and turn of the cooker.
- Spoon the tofu and bitter melons into the dish, add some ground black pepper. Enjoy warmly.
Note: Pay attention that just to be gentle in the process of cooking for this recipe. It will help you to avoid the bitter melons and tofu to be crumbled. The ripe bitter and the tofu are both soft, so the time for cooking may be shortened. This depends on how ripe the bitter melons you have and also your taste.
