bitter gourd
"Compendium of Materia Medica" contains "Bitter is famous for its taste", hence the name of bitter gourd.
Bitter gourd originated in eastern India and spread to southern China in the early Ming Dynasty. English name: bitter gourd alias: bitter gourd, Jin litchi, bitter grape, toad, red girl, cold melon, gentleman's dish, etc.
Cucurbitaceae, Momordica, an annual climbing weak herb.
Maturity: April-September Main producing areas: Fujian and Guangdong.
The taste of nature is bitter, and nature is cold. Meridian of heart, spleen and lung.
In folklore, bitter gourd has a quality of "not passing on its own bitterness to other things", that is, it is fried and cooked together with any dish such as fish and meat, and it will never pass on its own bitterness to each other. Therefore, some people say that bitter gourd "has the virtue and merit of a gentleman" and is known as "the dish of a gentleman".
Nutritional investigation of bitter gourd (taking 100g as an example);
Heating 22 kilocalories; ;
Dietary fiber1.4g;
Potassium 256 mg; ;
Phosphorus 35 mg; ;
Calcium 14 mg.
Selection skill
① Look at the fruit tumor
The fruit tumor on bitter gourd is the benchmark to judge the quality of bitter gourd. The bigger the particle, the fuller it is, indicating that the melon meat is thicker. The granules are small and the melon meat is thin.
2 look at the color.
When you choose, you should pick green bitter gourd, which is relatively fresh. However, some yellow bitter melons are too prosperous, and they will be softer and have no crispy feeling without the proper taste of bitter melons.
3 look at maturity.
When buying bitter gourd, you'd better buy young melon. It's overcooked, soft and rotten, and I can't eat it. If the pulp looks crystal clear and thick, it will be better to have yellow at last, which is not suitable for people who are yellow overall.
4 look at the weight.
The weight of bitter gourd should be about 500 grams. This kind of bitter gourd has thick pulp and good taste, and the juice in bitter gourd will be richer. It is not recommended that you choose a smaller bitter gourd, which will be very bitter. In addition, when choosing, you should choose a thick and straight shape.
⑤ Look at the lines.
If the particles are dense, such bitter gourd is bitter and bitter, and there are more momordicosides; The wider the lines, the lighter the bitterness.
Bitter gourd is rich in vitamin C, vitamin B 1, polypeptide -P pectin, galactose and minerals. Long-term consumption can clear away heat and toxic materials, promote blood circulation and remove blood stasis, promote digestion, refresh the mind and fight cancer. Bitter melon is bitter and cold, but it is good for your health.
Suitable crowd
Bitter gourd is suitable for patients with diabetes, cancer and itching.
Disadvantaged population
Bitter gourd is cold, not suitable for people with spleen and stomach deficiency.
Pregnant women should not eat bitter gourd. According to animal experiments, pregnant rats fed with bitter gourd juice will cause uterine bleeding and die within a few hours.
Bitter gourd is not suitable for overeating. Otherwise it will easily lead to nausea and vomiting. Bitter gourd should not be eaten on an empty stomach. Human fasting blood glucose level is low. Eating bitter gourd at this time will lower blood sugar and easily lead to hypoglycemia. Bitter gourd is cold and bitter, so menstrual women should eat less bitter gourd to avoid affecting the smooth discharge of menstrual blood.
Not suitable for eating together
Bitter gourd+pumpkin: it will destroy vitamin C.
Bitter gourd+pepper: it will reduce their respective efficacy.
Bitter gourd+pork chop: it will form calcium oxalate and hinder the absorption of calcium.
Bitter gourd+tofu: may cause symptoms such as stones, calcium deficiency and blood pressure imbalance.
Cooking skills:
1, mix bitter gourd cold dishes with less oil, you can cut bitter gourd and blanch it with boiling water, then season it with raw garlic, vinegar and salt. If you are worried that eating raw minced garlic will lead to heavy breath, you can slightly explode minced garlic in a small amount of hot oil and then pour it on bitter gourd.
2. People who are afraid of bitterness can cut the bitter gourd, marinate it with salt, pour off the water after salting, and blanch it again, which can greatly reduce the bitterness.
3. When making bitter gourd, the ingredients can be prepared according to your own taste and the amount of ingredients.
1, clearing heat and benefiting qi:
Momordica charantia has the effects of clearing away heat and relieving summer-heat, nourishing blood and benefiting qi, invigorating kidney and spleen, nourishing liver and improving eyesight, and has a certain curative effect on dysentery, sores, heatstroke, fever, excessive miliaria, conjunctivitis and other diseases.
2. Protect your body:
Bitter gourd has the functions of preventing scurvy, protecting cell membrane, preventing atherosclerosis, improving stress ability and protecting heart.
3. Anti-cancer:
The effective components in bitter gourd can inhibit the canceration of normal cells and promote the recovery of mutant cells, which has certain anti-cancer effect.
4. Reduce blood sugar and blood lipid:
Has the functions of lowering blood sugar, reducing blood fat, resisting tumor, preventing osteoporosis, regulating endocrine, resisting oxidation, resisting bacteria and improving human immunity.
The function of health.
5, beautiful skin:
Bitter gourd can moisturize white skin, calm and moisturize skin, especially in hot summer, applying iced bitter gourd slices can immediately relieve skin irritability.
Fried squid with bitter gourd
Prepare ingredients:
Squid, bitter gourd, salt, starch, carrot.
Steps:
1 cuttlefish cut into pieces, wax gourd cut into diamond-shaped pieces;
2. Boil this pot of water. After the water is boiled, roll the squid slightly, and then remove it immediately to control the moisture;
Blanch bitter gourd with a little salt and a few drops of oil;
4 Add starch, pepper and salt to a small bowl, then add appropriate amount of water and mix well;
5 put a little oil in the pot, add ginger slices, carrot slices and onion slices and stir fry together;
6 Add blanched squid and bitter gourd slices and stir-fry twice;
7 Add the prepared seasoning starch, thicken the juice, and finally add the shallots and stir well.
Scrambled eggs with bitter gourd
Prepare ingredients:
Bitter gourd, eggs, garlic hot sauce, minced ginger and onion, oil and salt.
Steps:
1 Add some salt to the eggs and break them up for later use;
2 blanch the bitter gourd, and immediately remove it and put it in cold water;
3. Pour oil in a hot pan, stir-fry minced ginger and onion, then pour the prepared egg liquid, and turn over the pan to make the egg liquid light and fixed;
4 then cut the scrambled eggs into small pieces, and then add the bitter gourd to stir fry a few times;
5 Add the best salt and garlic sauce and stir well.