- 14 shrimp – $3 ( the large bag of frozen shrimp was $8.50)
- 1 bitter melon >$1
- salt, oil, sugar, soy sauce, hoisin sauce (next time try oyster sauce),
- Miso, Chili (fresh if possible) I used sambal olek
- 3 cloves of garlic, ginger, scallions ( I didn’t have any)
- 1/3 cup of veggie stock
- Brown Rice
Total – $5
Adapted from a recipe in “Asian Soups Stews & Curries”
Make the brown rice
Cut the bitter melon lengthwise, scoop out the seeds, cut up and put into a bowl, salt the pieces and then cover with water. Let soak for a while and then rinse off and drain.
Thaw Shrimp then stir fry in veggie oi. Put the cooked shrimp aside.
Add to the oil scallions, sambal olek, garlic, Miso, ginger and stir fry for about 2 minutes
Add the bitter melon and stir fry for a nother couple of minutes
Add veggie stock, hoisin sauce, soy sauce, a pinch of sugar and cook for another couple of minutes.
Add shrimp and stir in a combination of 1tbsp of arrow root mixed with 1 tbsp of water (combine the arrow root and water in a little dish – stir until it is a liquid ahead of time)
Cook for another couple of minutes until the sauce sticks to the bitter melon and shrimp.
The bitter melon is very very bitter. Make sure to serve it with the brown rice to absorb some of the sauce and to offset the bitterness of the melon. After a couple of bites you get used to the taste of the bitter melon.