Goya Champuru Recipe (Okinawan Bitter Melon Stir-fry)

Hello I'm Yuto and today on Sudachi I'm going to show you how to make quick and easy Okinawan Goya Champloo. Let's get straight to it. Here I have one washed Goya, it's about 170 grams. I'll start by cutting off the top and then cutting it in half lengthways like this. Next we need to scoop out the seeds and discard them. Once that's done, thinly slice them like this. It's important not to cut too thin as the texture will be lost but not too thick since the flavour of Goya is very bitter. Finding a middle ground is ideal. Goya is the Japanese name for Okinawan bitter melon. It has a strong bitter taste and that's actually the reason why people love it. The name of the dish is Goya Champloo which means jumbled bitter melon in To soften the bitter taste a little, we're just going to rub the surface with a bit of salt and sugar and leave it to rest for 10 minutes. While we wait, let's prepare the tofu. I have 200 grams of firm tofu here. Rather than pressing it to remove the excess liquid, I like to use a shortcut of wrapping it in kitchen paper and microwaving it for 1 minute and 30 seconds at 600 watts. When it comes out, it will be very hot so let it cool for a few minutes before trying to handle it. Once cooled, cut it into bite-sized cubes. Typically Goya Champloo is made with a special Okinawan tofu called island tofu but it can be hard to find and regular firm tofu works fine. The Goya has been resting for 10 minutes now so I'm going to wash it with cold water and drain. Next, let's heat up our pan on medium and add our cooking oil. Once it's hot, add the tofu and brown it on each side. I like frying the tofu separately for this dish so that it develops a beautiful golden and slightly chewy surface without absorbing the liquids and fats from the other ingredients. Once it's golden on all sides, transfer it to your wire rack to let the excess oil drain off. Using the same pan, add 150 grams of thinly sliced pork belly and fry until sealed. If you can't find thinly sliced pork belly like this, unsmoked bacon is a good substitute. The fat from the pork adds amazing flavour to the dish but for plant-based diets, of course, you can leave it out. Once it's sealed, add the drained Goya and stir-fry them together for about two to three minutes. Now you can add tofu back in and add a generous pinch of salt and pepper. Add one teaspoon of soy sauce and mix. Next, we're going to add one whisked egg. Once the egg is added, leave it to become half cooked before mixing again. This will help the egg break into larger pieces rather than becoming scrambled and mushy. Finally, add another dash of soy sauce, give it a quick mix and remove it from the heat. This is optional but I like to garnish Goya Champuru with Katsuobushi. Feel free to add extra salt and pepper to taste and enjoy with rice or noodles. Thanks so much for watching. If you want to learn more about this recipe, the link is in the description. Hope to see you next time.