Bitter Gourd Recipe

涼拌沖繩苦瓜
Bitter Gourd with Sesame Oil

材料 | Ingredients：

沖繩苦瓜 1條

大蒜半片

鹽 1/4茶匙

胡椒少許

芝麻油 2湯匙

芝麻 1湯匙

1 bitter gourd

1/2 clove garlic

Salt (appropriate amount)

1 pinch pepper

2 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon roasted sesame seeds

Cut the bitter gourd in half vertically, remove the guts, and cut into thin slices.
Boil the bitter gourd slices quickly in plenty of water (about 20 seconds in the water). Once it's boiled, remove to a colander to cool.
Thoroughly remove the water from the bitter gourd by using paper towel.
Mix the bitter gourd, grated garlic, salt, and pepper in a bowl. Add sesame oil and roasted sesame seeds, and mix further. Adjust the taste by adding salt.

苦瓜是沖繩代表性的蔬菜，含有豐富的維他命C，由於這種維他命C經過加熱也不會損失，所以最適合做為炒菜的材料。苦味成分中的MOMORUDESIN具有健胃和增進食欲之效，普遍認為還可以降低血糖。沖繩的蔬菜為了能在海風和強烈的紫外線下生存，所以具有強勁的生命力，和日本其他地區的蔬菜相比更具有抗氧化作用。