Ampalaya con Carne

My daughter is getting to be a picky eater. Her pediatrician informed me it has something to do with hormonal changes. At times transition from childhood to pre-teens affects their diet. Their preferences change.

I want my daughter to eat her vegetables. I want to include veggies in our daily menu. It's a good thing she loves ampalaya con carne (bittergourd with beef). We haven't had this for quite some time.

Success factors for ampalaya con carne would be largely reducing the bitterness of the ampalaya. Oyster sauce is also my ally in preparing some vegetable dishes. It enhances the taste. The ampalaya slices were really crispy as they were dropped two to three minutes before I turned off the heat. The beef was really good. I did not tenderize them anymore but they're soft to the bite.

You may do the following to manage the bitterness of ampalaya:
1. Slice them.
2. Remove the seeds.
3. Scrub the slices with a generous amount of salt.
4. Soak in very hot water for a minute or two.
5. Squeeze the water from each piece.

That worked when I applied the technique.

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