From The North Grove Kitchen: Luffa and bitter melon recipes from the Philippines

Makayla Cole
Oct 9
3 min read

Did you know you can eat luffa?! Have you ever heard of bitter melon? Both are commonly used in recipes across the Asian Continent, and especially in Farm & Youth Facilitator, Rose’s home country – the Philippines.

We grew both vegetables on the Community Farm for the first time this summer. Rose and her friend Kayevin showed us how to prepare them in a special Food Demo.

You can find these vegetables at an Asian or International grocery store – or maybe at your local farmer’s market!

Misua at Patola Soup (Luffa Soup with Thin Noodles)

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

1 pound of ground pork or beef
1 medium luffa
1 onion
4 green onions
4 cloves of garlic
85 grams of Misua noodles
2 tbsp of vegetable stock powder
6-8 cups of water
2 tbsp fish sauce
Salt & pepper to taste
3 tbsp of oil

Instructions

Slice luffa, dice onion, thinly slice green onions and mince garlic.
Heat 1 tbsp of oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ground pork or beef and cook while stirring often, until there are no pink spots left in the meat.
Drain the excess fat, discard, transfer the cooked meat to a bowl and set aside. To the same pot, add another 1 tbsp of oil and add the onion.
Cook while stirring often, for 5 minutes, or until softened. Add in garlic and cooked meat and cook for 2-3 minutes more.
Stir in the water and stock powder, increase heat to bring to a boil.
Cover and reduce to a simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add the Misua noodles and the sliced luffa and cook for 5 more minutes.
Season with fish sauce, salt & pepper.
Stir and then mix in the green onions. Enjoy!

When asked how bitter melon tastes, Rose replied “Well... it’s bitter.” It’s a vegetable she didn’t care for as a child, but the flavour stuck with her and now she longs for it - the way her mother would prepare it. The power of food memories!

Ginisang Ampalaya (Bitter Melon Stir Fry)

Makes: 4 servings

Ingredients

2 bitter melons
1 onion
1 tomato
3 cloves of garlic
2 eggs
½ cup of water
2 tsp of vegetable stock powder
1 tbsp fish sauce
2 tbsp of oil
Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions

Cut bitter melon into thin slices and then add to a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and the cover with lukewarm water. Leave for 5 minutes.
Cut onion and tomato into thin slices and then mince garlic.
Transfer the sliced bitter melon to a cheesecloth and squeeze tightly to get out the excess moisture.
Heat oil in a large pan over medium heat. When hot add in the onions, garlic and tomato; and cook, while stirring frequently, until the vegetables begin to soften, this typically takes about 3-5 minutes.
Stir in the bitter melon and cook for another 1-2 minutes, season with salt and pepper to preference.
Whisk eggs together in a small bowl and then pour over the vegetables. Let cook partially and then mix with the rest of the vegetables.
Remove the heat and serve over rice. Enjoy!