Bitter Gourd (Ampalaya) and Salsa

There is nothing bitter about Bitter Gourd...if you know the right technique! Bitter gourd or Ampalaya, as we Filipinos call it, is very refreshing and tastes great when applied as a salad and eaten with chips and salsa as condiment, makes a great meal with any meat.

Ampalaya Salad ingredients:
     1 Ampalaya or Bitter gourd cut in half lengthwise
     1 cucumber cut in half lengthwise
     1 medium Spanish onion cut in half and sliced thinly
     1 small carrot sliced thinly
     1/2 cup sugarcane vinegar
     1 cup water
     1/2 cup of sugar
     2 tablespoons of salt
     1 tspn. black pepper

Recipe:
Using a spoon, scoop out the inside of the bitter gourd and apply a tablespoon of salt on each half and set aside for 10 minutes. In a deep pan, boil water and blanch the bitter gourd and carrots for about half a minute. Pour out the boiling water and set aside. In a bowl mix the water, vinegar, sugar and black pepper and pour the other ingredients and set aside in the refrigerator to cool.

Salsa ingredients:
     1 pound of tomatoes, diced
     2 spanish onions, diced
     3 to 4 tablespoons, chopped cilantro
     4-5 green jalapeno peppers or Thai red chiles, diced
     1 tspn salt & pepper
     1 tspn sugar
     1/2 cup sugarcane vinegar
     1 tblspn soy sauce

Recipe:
Mix all the ingredients, then in a blender, lightly blend to about 4 split seconds and set aside in the refrigerator to cool. Serve with corn chips.