Japanese Cooking Blog with Asako Nonaka #17
Asako Nonaka ◆ July 13, 2016
What do you remember when you hear “the taste of home cooking”?
Miso soup, curry and rice, hamburger, gratin, teriyaki yellowtail, beef and potato stew, deep-fried chicken…
Children remember the taste of home-cooked food even in their adulthood.
They might not remember when they ate it and what they talked about at the dinner table but they won’t forget their mom’s cuisine.
They can remember even the taste and the smell. It is very interesting, isn’t it?
Mothers think hard about what is good for their children’s health and what dish they like. Every day, moms cook meals for their family.
Perhaps there were some side dishes that you didn’t like.
You must have had a bad feeling when your mother said “Eat properly.”
That is because your mother wanted you to have a healthy body. Mothers protect children by cooking food. It is the love of a mother for her children.
Nobody says to you now, “Eat properly.”
You can choose anything you want to eat.
You can eat even only your favorites but they are not good for your health.
Now it is your turn to protect your body and your family. You are what you eat. Your children eat the food you choose. You make their health.
Please choose the food for you and your children.
What kind of dish do you want your children to remember in the future?
This time I’m introducing the recipe of Goya Chanpuru, or bitter melon stir fry with tofu and egg. This is one of the tastes of home cooked food for me. Chanpuru is an Okinawa dialect which means stir-frying various ingredients. Goya is bitter melon and cucurbitaceous plant. It contains a lot of vitamin C, fiber, calcium and iron. It helps to get rid of your summer fatigue. The bitter component helps to protect your intestines and promotes appetite. So goya is a good food during the hot summer but it cools your body so please be careful of overeating.
Recipe: Goya Chanpuru (Bitter Melon Stiry Fry with Tofu and Egg)
★ Ingredients
- 1 Goya (bitter melon)
- 3 eggs
- 1/2 pack of tofu
- 1/2 lb (230g) of pork
- 2 tbsp of soy sauce
- 2 tbsp of sake
- salt and pepper
★ Directions
- Cut goya lengthwise and remove the seeds and slice it. Sprinkle with salt and let it marinate for a short while before washing it.
- Cut pork into bite-size pieces.
- Put oil in a pan and stir-fry pork, then add salt and pepper.
- Add goya, sake and soy sauce and fry.
- Add tofu and when the tofu is heated, add the beaten egg.
- When the egg becomes soft, turn off the heat.
Please feel free to try this dish and have a healthy summer!
