Yesterday I enjoyed eating bitter melon with dried shrimps and rice. This is a Surinamese dish and especially for eaters with guts 😉 because as the name says, this vegetable has a bitter taste. In Dutch we have the saying: “Bitter in de mond, maakt het hart gezond!” which can be translated as “Bitter in the mouth, makes the heart healthy!” I don’t know if it’s true but it can be a great benefit to eat this spicy and low calorie dish. It is also very easy and quick to prepare. The recipe is as follows:
1 bitter melon (chopped)
2 tablespoons dried shrimp (soaked)
0,5 onion (chopped)
2 pieces of garlic (chopped)
0,5 tomato (chopped)
2 bouillon cubes
0,5 pepper (chopped)
0,5 teaspoon sugar
2 tablespoons oil
Heat the oil. Fry the onions a little bit, then add the garlic and fry all until it’s light brown. Add the tomato, pepper, bouillon cubes and sugar. Fry all until the tomato is almost dissolved. Then add the dried shrimp after soaking and squeezing out the water, and finally the bitter melon. Turn the heat low and let it all cook while stirring now and then until the bitter melon is done, but not too soft. Serve with cooked rice.
Njang switie! Enjoy! Eet smakelijk!
Fact: Sopropo is the Surinamese name for bitter melon