Getting rid of the bitter taste of bitter gourd / melon (ampalaya)
I’ll be very honest with you: I’m not a fan of ampalaya. I had an uncle who forced my cousins and I to eat ampalaya when we were young and it was very traumatic for me. My youngest cousin, six years younger than me, would soaked her share of ampalaya in patis (fish sauce) to drown out the bitterness. My solution was to drink lots of water with every mouthful of ampalaya. As an adult, even after all the marketing bombardment (that came with the development of ampalaya tablets and tea) about its health benefits, I still didn’t develop an acquired taste for it although all the oldies said it would come if I would just eat ampalaya on a regular basis.
I’m still trying. And after watching so many cooking shows where chefs sprinkle eggplants with salt to supposedly draw out the bitter juices (Eggplants are bitter? These people haven’t eaten ampalaya!), I decided to use the same technique to remove the bitterness of the ampalaya. Sounds more logical than precooking the ampalaya in salted water which would result in too much loss of nutrients.
First, trim the ampalaya by cutting off both ends. Cut in half lengthwise. With a sturdy spoon, scape off the seeds and membranes. Cut into 1/4 inch slices, or thinner if you can manage it.
Place the sliced ampalaya in a bowl and sprinkle generously with salt.
Toss to coat every piece of ampalaya with salt. Leave for at least 30 minutes. Squeeze out the juices, rinse and drain. Use in your preferred ampalaya dish.
The technique works — but only up to a certain point. A certain (though, I must admit, quite tolerable) amount of bitterness remains.
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[...] ampalaya, I cooked this sauteed dish with ampalaya, dried shrimps and eggs. To see how I tried to get rid of the bitter taste of ampalaya, see my previous entry. See also a recent Feast Asia entry for more information (and some trivia) [...]
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Hi Ms. Connie, another way my mom taught me to soak the ampalaya in water and salt for about an hour then drain it using a strainer. It works very well for me kasi I didnt like ampalaya din before eh. Namiss ko tuloy ang ampalaya dahil hindi sya available dito.
That’s what I’m going to try next time. I hope that gets rid of ALL the bitterness.
yes, this method is effective
I like ginisang ampalaya with scrambled egg 
Miss Connie, you should try to scrape off ALL the white pith inside. The pith adds tremendously to the bitterness. A caveat: it’s actually the bitterness that adds to the ampalaya’s anti-diabetic properties, it’s the enzymes in the plant. But even without the enzymes, ampalaya can still provide nutrients, although it wouldn’t be as potent.
I love ampalaya, even if it’s very bitter. I taught myself how to eat ampalaya years before. I ate it for a week – breakfast, lunch and dinner! Yup! It grows on you actually. I munch on it at dinner, kahit steamed lang with a hint of calamansi. Yum
I like fresh ampalaya boiled with bagoong ilocano
I like it in paksiw and with beef. Yum…yum…
SOak the amplaya with vinegar and salt. and rinse it. it works.
Ampalaya will absorb the vinegar and modify the taste of the cooked dish (?)
twopenneth, i also do that with the ampalaya.
Connie, it doesn’t completely get rid of the bitterness but is reduced significantly. For me, I think it’s more of psychological..i still can’t eat it without drinking lots of water. The only time i ate ampalaya without drowning it in water was when i attended a party and they served it with shrimps as a salad. The ampalaya was sliced thinly then soaked in salted ice water before being washed and drained.
Gay, wow…you thought yourself? I wonder if i can ever do that. Just thinking about it eh umaayaw na ko! Steamed w/ calamansi sounds interesting though.
Idol si Gay, eh?
I’m thinking of combining ampalaya with other (non-traditional) ingredients. You know, flavors that will blend with the bitterness so that even if it’s still there, it’ll be more palatable.
Haha… it grows on you really. I taught myself to eat way back in the late 90s, I was still in Iligan and a kilo cost only seven pesos!
..oops…”taught” not “thought”…parang mind over matter tuloy yung dating…hehe :p
hi connie,
aside from scraping off ALL the white pith (it is indeed the white pith that gives the bitterness taste), when buying the ampalaya, choose the ones with the BIGGER kulubot. the smaller the kulubots, the more bitter they are. and the darker the color, the more bitter they also are.
when i want to have the bitterness in my pinakbet, i use the smaller, darker green and smaller kulubot kind of ampalaya. when i want to make regular sauteed ampalaya with egg, etc., i choose the larger, lighter color and with big kulubot kind.
still on ampalaya, have you tried using ampalaya leaves on sauteed monggo? masarap siya. madali rin lang magtanim ng ampalaya. and since you have a big garden, pwede mo na siya itanim sa kahit na anong lugar na may aakyatan yung ampalaya vine. kapag tumutubo na yung ampalaya, they are nice to look at kasi they will have yellow flowers which will eventually become the ampalaya.
have a nice day!
Re “when buying the ampalaya, choose the ones with the BIGGER kulubot.”
Huh? I thought the smoother the skin, the less bitter.
Actually I agree with Miss Susan. The Chinese ampalaya (white in color and with bigger blisters, as in mukhang bulutong :p) are not as bitter as the ampalaya here. You can serve any ampalaya as a salad as peterb says; chinese-style ampalaya salad has Chinese vinegar, soy sauce and lots of chili-garlic oil (garlic perfumes ampalaya so well), and is served to cut-down the fattiness of pork asado or fried chicken. (Just a suggestion for a unique ampalaya recipe :p)
ganyan ginagawa ng nanay ko pag nagluluto ng amplaya w/ beef on oyster sauce(con carne ata tawag nya dun).
so adapt ko rin yun na nasa strainer
tapos rinse ko sa water
ako lang kasi kumakain nun sa bahay
depende rin yata sa ampalaya
isang beses kasi nung naluto na, wala talagang pait
its either napiga ko lahat ng pait or sanay na lang siguro dila ko
although di ko alam yun tungkol sa pait ng makinis at kulubot na ampalaya
hello again connie,
‘kulubot’ was the only word i could think of to describe the bumps on the skin of the ampalaya. you are correct with the ’smoother’ skin, kasi kapag malalaki yung kulubot, you will see more ’smoother skin’.
and yes, the lighter the shade of green, the less bitter it will be.
Hi Connie! Long time I’ve not been here. This post about ampalaya is interesting. I sooo hated ampalaya but when I was diagnosed as diabetic, I had no recourse but to teach myself to cook it and eat it.
I don’t know if you will find these tips helpful but, to get rid of the bitterness, I try to follow them: (1) don’t choose the one with smooth skin, (2) the lighter it is, the less bitter; (3) slice as thinly as possible; (4) don’t stir when you cook it because stirring draws out the bitterness. Since the bitterness is supposed to be good for diabetics, I don’t squeeze the ampalaya too much so I retain the nutrients.
Happy Easter to you and family!
My mother-in-law said that while cooking ampalaya avoid stirring it so much so that it will not get bitter.
you got it! that is how i’ve been preparing my ampalaya for the last 20 years and my friends and family are amazed that they can eat it….only in my house.
I LOVE AMPALAYA! steam, ginisa, inihaw, on salads, i really dig it!
weird nga siguro ako pero SUPER FAVORITE ko talaga ang AMPALAYA!
growing up as an anemic child, my mother forces me to like this vegetable. as in 7 days in a week, laging may ampalaya dish sa table:( And mind you guys, ang nanay ko pagnagluto nyan, after slicing diretso na sa kawali! wala ng iba pang orasyon! Parang stir fry ang dating, crunchy pa yung ampalaya pag hinain nya sa amin. Mapait, pero tolerable..later on, masarap na sya for me. Hinahanap-hanap ko na sya kahit pa simpleng itlog lang ang sahog good na for me
This is what I do and works well with pinakbet and guisado. Drop the ampalaya slices into the pan and simmer WITHOUT stirring until cooked or crisp-tender. That’s it. Wag lang haluin, payo ng sister ko. So far so good. Nakuha nya yang tip na yan mula sa kanilang butihing maid. Try it and let me know if it works for you.
hello connie,
ampalaya reminds me so much of my mom who made me eat it when i was diagnosed as being anemic. since i loved her pickled papaya so much, she thought i would also love if she pickled ampalaya. she assumed right, i loved it. from there my mom made everything ampalaya, ginisa…pinakbet (more ampalaya than not), sinigang etc. and yes she gives the ampalaya a salt bath to purge the bitter taste. funny, but as i grew older i began to love the bitter taste of ampalaya.
Hi connie..after the soaking and squeezing of the ampalaya, i sautee with less stirring then cover til it’s done.
dear ms. connie,
my mom once made an ampalaya salad. i just remember thinly sliced ampalaya soaked in pineapple juice (the dole or delmonte kind which is pure) with other ingredients. forgot the other ingredients na but it is yummy served cold.
connie, to remove some bitterness,i add rock salt to d cut-up ampalaya n mash it lightly before washing.it works really.di na masyadong mapait.tapos,i saute,garlic,onion n tomatoes n add d ampalaya.when it’s almost done,i add sotanghon!!! sarap din!!
ganun nga ginawa ni Connie
Hi Miss Connie!
One effective way I know to reduce the bitterness of ampalaya. After slicing the ampalaya, don’t let it absorb air. Wag pong pahanginan. Ilagay agad sa tubig then alisin lang sa tubig kapag iluluto na. I bet, this will work! I suggest na wag pigain ang amplaya (don’t squeeze the juice out of it) kasi nababawasan ang sustansya.
The best way to get rid of the bitterness in ampalaya is to slice it and soak it in cold water with a little sugar for a few minutes before cooking. The ampalaya will absorb the sweetness of the sugar. That’s a tip that I got from my dad.
my lolo used to tell me…it’s not ampalaya if it’s not bitter.LOL