Some people say that Ampalaya Con Carne is basically the Cadillac of the Ampalaya dish variety. Whether I would agree or not, let’s find out. I normally cooked Ampalaya the way my Mom had taught me with shrimp, shrimp paste, and pork belly “ginisang ampalaya“ and always had great results.
Bagoong alamang seems to tame down a lot of the bitterness. So cooking this dish this way is somewhat out of my comfort zone. But looking at some of the recipes I found on the web, I was convinced it was worth a try and the pictures looked great, but did the actual taste do me justice? You’ll find out shortly. For now let’s take a look at the recipe.
Ingredients:
1 Large ampalaya (bitter melon / bitter gourd)
1 Small onion, cut in half and sliced crosswise
2 Tbs. Ginger root julienned
2 Garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
¼ Cup of water
1 Tbs. Soy sauce
1 Tsp. MSG
Corn oil for stir-frying
The Marinade:
½ Lb. Beef loin
2 Tbs. Soy sauce
1 Tbs. White sugar
½ Tsp. Salt
1 Tbs. Cornstarch
1 Tbs. Asian sesame oil
2 Garlic cloves, peeled and smashed
Directions:
Prepare Ampalaya by cutting it in half lengthwise and removing the seeds. Make sure you scrape the white stuff off also. Slice it ¼ of an inch thick diagonally and place in a bowl large enough to fit all of it. Next smother it with plenty of salt and add water just above the ampalaya and let it soak for 20 minutes. After soaking, rinse it thoroughly and make sure all the salt has been rinsed off.
The beef: Slice beef loin in 2 x ½ x ¼ in. slices across the grain and place in the bowl along with soy sauce, sugar, salt, msg, cornstarch, sesame oil, and garlic mix well. Cover and sit it in the fridge for 20 minutes.
In a wok heat 2 Tbs. of corn oil to a smoking point. Saute beef in batches for 15 seconds or until beef is no longer pink. Repeat this process until all beef is done and place it on a plate and set aside.
In the same wok heat 1 tablespoon of corn oil, add garlic and ginger and saute it for 15 seconds. Next add the ampalaya and saute it for one minute. Then add onions, the beef, and all the juice accumulated to the wok. Add water, msg, soy sauce, cover and let it simmer for 6 minutes on medium low heat or until the ampalaya is tender. Adjust taste by adding salt if needed. Serve hot with rice. Enjoy!
Question: Did I like this dish?
Answer: Yes, I actually liked it and it would be on my favorites list!
Tip 1:
Ampalaya are seldom mixed with other vegetables due to their strong bitter taste, although this can be moderated to some extent by salting and then washing the cut ampalaya before use.
Tip 2:
When sauteing beef in batches always allow the wok to re-heat before adding the next batch of meat and add oil every batch if necessary.
Tip 3:
After cooking let it sit for at least 5 minutes before serving. This will also help tame the bitter taste while giving the flavor a little time to blend in.
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more pictures please…i love your site…i learned a lot…thankz
i tried it today, and my husbang liked it, it will now be part of my menu, thanks a lot.
This looks good as all the other recipes. I can’t wait to try it. Thanks for all the detailed info. I’m so glad I found this site!
my favorite… yum yum… =)
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Busy-Bride-To-Be
Wow!!! thanks for sharing the recipe!!! i’m gonna try this out soon
i must have done something wrong in the recipe because my hubby and i fought over this, with cursing, mind you. the ampalaya daw was too bitter unike when he would be the one to cook it. and the beef was too salty daw. still, i’d like to thank you for the recipe. we learn from our mistakes, after all.
a lazy way to do this recipe is to use ground pork, beef, or turkey instead of the sliced meat. instead of doing a full on marinade, try using just soy sauce when combining all the ingredients. you can also scramble in a couple of eggs at the very end – not too many..you don’t want to make an omelette out of it.
A great recipe…..i already tried it in my menu and my relatives really like it..WOW!!! we love ampalaya!!! i will often view this site for another great recipes….Thank You!!!
Please help! Looking for recipes from Samar Province. Main Dish, Side DIsh and Dessert. Thanks and cheers, Ricky
This looks yummy! I love ampalaya. My whole family loves it too! In fact, we just became a fan of it in Facebook!
I love this dish. Many people don’t like the ampalaya due to its bitter taste. I so love it, I even eat ampalaya salad without attempting to remove the bitter taste. For the other people in the house what I’d do is gently squeeze the ampalaya slices to get some of the bitter juices out but I like your salting method.
My kids love this! I get to make them eat amapalaya because of this recipe. Thanks for sharing. 🙂
wow, another ampalaya dish. looks yummy. I like how you take pictures of ampalaya!
To reduce the bitterness of the ampalaya, after sitting in the salt, squeeze the ampalaya very well, the bitter juice comes out and you are left with crunchier flesh and less bitterness. Wash in cold water & drain before cooking.
Here is a tip for reducing the bitterness of the ampalaya:
Slice the ampalaya very thinly, sprinkle with a teaspoon salt and let sit for about 30 minutes. Squeeze the sliced ampalaya very well and throw away the juice. The flesh is now crunchier and less bitter.
Here is a tip to reduce the bitterness of the ampalaya:
Slice the ampalaya thinly, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt and let sit for about 30 minutes. Squeeze the sliced ampalaya very well until the green juice comes out. Discard the juice and stir fry as per recipe.
The result is a crunchier flech and less bitterness. Enjoy.
Also try using oyster sauce instead of soy sauce and omit the salt, sugar & msg.
Will try it tomorrow! Loves ampalaya, even for ENSALADA!
I’m type 2 diabetes and I love bitter melon, I will definitely try this recipe.
Ohhhlala d best ampalaya recipe ive ever try .whats nexxxt? :-):-D;-)B-):-!:-!
My favorite ampalaya recipe!
This turned out GREAT! I love bitter melon and this was the perfect recipe. Thank you so much!