Beef with Ampalaya in Oyster Sauce

i used to abhor the ampalaya [bitter gourd]. it evoked negative images of my childhood when my dad refused to let us leave the table, even if we were in tears, if we did not even eat 1 slice of this bitter vegetable. it's the only vegetable i never learned to like. i wouldn't even touch any dish that had ampalaya in it.

i had gestational diabetes in my two pregnancies but in the last one i had to have insulin shots daily. so one time, as i was trying to find food to lower my blood sugar levels, i found the ampalaya waiting for me in my chiller. my mother in law bought me some groceries and as she eats the bitter thing almost everyday, she included it.

i cooked it with eggs, squeezing the thinly sliced pieces as much as i could after letting them sit with some salt for a time. and i've been having ampalaya with beaten eggs regularly since.

i had some thin slices of top round beef one time and a gourd of the ampalaya. one popular chinese restaurant dish here is stir frying beef with ampalaya. and so i searched for a recipe on the net and found one which looked easy enough and all the other ingredients were in stock.

so i cooked it accordingly. i found it strange that the author required you to put corn starch in the beef marinade, but i did it anyway.

the result was this. it looks exactly like the dish served in the chinese restaurant and when i ate it, though the ampalaya was mighty bitter [the slices were thicker than i was used to, hence it was difficult to squeeze all all the bitterness out], the beef was super tender very tasty, and had the exact texture chinese restaurant stir fried beef always has. i guess, that's where the cornstarch in the marinade comes in.

i'm back to my regular ampalaya and egg combination, but when the hubby is present, i will occasionally revert to this recipe which he liked.

p.s. check out the blog i got this recipe from. the cook, he calls himself UT-Man, is amazing at documenting his adventures in the kitchen. there's no other blog that has as much filipino dishes as his blog does. i'm sure all filipino food lovers out there will love this site.

my mom's beef stew

though i rarely eat beef, not because it's red meat but because i can't stand it's signature smell, i gobbled this one up whenever my Mom prepared it for us. And so, when i transferred to my own home and because my hubby is a big beef lover, i decided to experiment with it.

No two preparations are the same because i substitute with what's currently in my ref. But i'll specify the main ingredients that gives it it's own character. There's nothing new or secret about it, in fact i guess it's the same old beef stew everybody makes.

But it's yummy, hearty, and filling and it's a breeze to make, no fuss and minimal mess. So i decided to share it with you.

in a sauce pan, lightly fry sliced chorizo de bilbao in a little of its own lard. then put in beef shanks and add enough water just to cover beef. while waiting for it to boil, add a pat of butter, salt, ground black pepper, chopped garlic, halved onions, and chunks of capsicum. when it starts boiling, lower the heat to a gentle simmer, then add any tomato-based sauce. add herbs of your choice [today i put in dried thyme, rosemary, oregano, and fresh parsely]. when it starts to boil again add chunks of carrots and potatoes, you can also add other veggies like green beans [anything that goes well with stews]. just before the veggies are cooked, drop in pimiento-stuffed olives and whole champignon mushrooms. when done, turn off heat and add small cheese chunks [the kind that easily melts, i use local eden cheese cause its creamy and just gives the right amount of saltiness]

since i don't have a pressure cooker yet, i let the beef shanks simmer for at least an hour to make sure it comes out tender. if i have plenty time, i make it 2 hours so it falls-off-the bones.and as i said you can substitute the non-main ingredients, like today i used beef franks instead of the usual chorizo i use. and because we have it, edwin added a pinch of saffron to make it more fragrant and mask the beefy smell that i don't like.

i also didn't specify amounts because you can play with it. if you like onions, then add more. if you don't like olives, then don't inlude them. you can make your own tweaks and adjustments to suit your taste. you can even drop in the ingredients in no particular order, common sense lang para di maging mushy and unrecognizable ang ingredients, he he.

to make the meal complete, all you need is rice and icy cold rootbeer!

i promise you it's no hassle at all, in fact i was multiplying while i was making it and pa-silip silip lang to know when it's ready na.

i hope you try it and enjoy it as we do.