Crispy Salted Egg Bitter Gourd
My family loves the crisp bite of this salted egg bitter gourd dish, and the salty, savoury flavour that floods the mouth. Although my children dislike bitter gourd, this is one dish that they cannot resist.
With the bitter gourd sliced thinly and deep-fried to golden brown perfection, its overpowering bitterness is lessened, even without washing with salt. The fragrant curry leaves add extra crispiness to each bite and the salted egg sauce made from scratch masks while complementing the mildly bitter taste.
So tasty and easy to eat, this salted egg bitter gourd dish is very addictive!
Ingredients
Bitter gourd – the main “meat” of this dish. Young bitter gourd is the key to having firm chips, as the old counterparts tend to be soft, red and extremely bitter.
Salted egg yolks – the main flavour of this dish. As it is already very strong in taste, additional salt is unnecessary. Feel free to add pepper or paprika as seasonings if a little heat is preferred.
Curry leaves, butter – both contribute to the fragrance of the salted egg yolks. Butter also gives a creamy taste that smoothes the saltiness of this dish. I used unsalted butter as the egg yolks provide plenty of salt.
Crispy (tempura) flour, water – these ingredients coat the salted egg bitter gourd and form a lovely crisp layer that allows the salted egg yolk sauce to hold on to it. I’m using my homemade crispy flour recipe, but you can use any tempura flour while following their instructions on making the batter.
Cooking oil – for deep frying. Make sure the oil is hot enough to deep fry the bitter gourd to reduce its oiliness, and when making the salted egg yolk sauce. If it’s not hot enough, the egg yolks will not form enough foam, and the sauce will be quite flat.
Steps
- Steam egg yolks for 8-10 minutes.
- Cut bitter gourd thinly, about 0.5cm.
- Mix flour and water until well-combined.
- Coat bitter gourd generously with the flour.
- Fry bitter gourd for 5 minutes on one side, and 4 minutes on the other, or until golden brown.
- Remove with a strainer and rest on a cooling rack.
- Mash salted egg yolks.
- Strip the curry leaves.
- Fry the cooking oil, butter and curry leaves until the butter has melted and curry leaves have curled up.
- Fry the salted egg yolks until it becomes very foamy.
- Switch off the heat and coat the bitter gourd with salted egg yolk sauce.
- Serve the Crispy Salted Egg Bitter Gourd immediately.
Tips
- Scrape as much of the white inner flesh of the bitter gourd as it contributes to the bitterness.
- Slicing the bitter gourd thinly (0.5cm) reduces the bitter taste, and makes each piece crunchier.
- When deep-frying the bitter gourd, add them individually into the oil.
- Separate the bitter gourd early on if they are stuck.
- I re-used some of the oil from deep-frying, so I did not need to wait for it to get hot before adding butter and curry leaves. If using cooled oil, let it heat up for about 4-5 minutes before adding butter.
- Fine salted egg yolk becomes very foamy when the oil is very hot. If it is not hot enough, it will not be very foamy, which results in a clumpy coating.
- Make sure to watch the full video to see how I made it exactly!
Storage Instructions
This Salted Egg Bitter Gourd dish is unlike its wet counterpart; it is best consumed fresh to enjoy the addictive crispy texture, the aromatic fragrance and savoury taste of each chip. The longer it is kept, the less fresh it will be.
I don’t recommend storing it in the fridge or freezer for later consumption, as the crispy flour coating will become limp and soggy as time goes on.
Let’s Eat!
It’s crunchy, and tasty with such an appetising aroma from the curry leaves and a mild bitterness that complements the salty, savoury flavour of the salted egg yolk sauce. It’s perfect with rice or any gravied dishes, or even as a snack for fun.
Some recipes that go very well with salted egg bitter gourd:
- Easy Black Sauce Chicken with Potatoes
- Healthy Steamed Ginger Scallion Fish
- 10 Minute Wok Hei Egg Fried Rice
Hope you have enjoyed the recipe 😀
Crispy Salted Egg Bitter Gourd
Equipment
- Sharp Kitchen Knife
- Chopping Board
- Steamer
- Wok
- Spatula
Ingredients
- 1 bitter gourd, sliced thinly
- cooking oil, for deep-frying
- 3 salted egg yolks
- 4 curry leaves stems
- 40 g butter, unsalted
- 2 tbsp cooking oil, taken from deep-frying oil
Crispy Batter
- 100 g homemade crispy flour
- 125 ml water, cold
Instructions
Preparation
- Extract salted egg yolks. Steam for 8-10 minutes over medium heat. Set aside to cool.
- Remove the tips from the bitter gourd, before cutting into quarters. Scrape off the seeds and the white flesh. Slice about 0.5cm thinly. Set aside.
- Heat oil for deep-frying for 10 minutes over medium heat.
- Mix flour and cold water until cohesive. It should be thin enough to coat the back of a spoon. Add 1 tbsp of flour or water until the consistency is reached.
- Generously coat bitter gourd with the crispy flour batter.
- When the oil is hot, gently add the bitter gourd and fry for 5 minutes, or until golden brown on one side. I fried mine in 2 batches. Turn it and fry for another 4 minutes. Remove from the heat with a strainer to drip off the excess oil, and rest on a cooling rack.
- Mash the cooled salted egg yolks to fine pieces. Strip all the curry leaves from the stems and set aside.
- Add cooking oil for frying into the wok, butter and curry leaves. Fry until all the butter has melted and the curry leaves have curled up.
- Add all the salted egg, and fry in the wok, stirring quickly for 15 seconds, or until the foam as expanded to triple its size.
- Switch off the heat, and add the crispy bitter gourd. Stir quickly to coat the bitter gourd with the salted egg sauce.
- Remove from the wok and serve immediately.
Video
Notes
Tips
- Scrape as much of the white inner flesh of the bitter gourd as it contributes to the bitterness.
- Slicing the bitter gourd thinly (0.5cm) reduces the bitter taste, and makes each piece crunchier.
- When deep-frying the bitter gourd, add them individually into the oil.
- Separate the bitter gourd early on if they are stuck.
- I re-used some of the oil from deep-frying, so I did not need to wait for it to get hot before adding butter and curry leaves. If using cooled oil, let it heat up for about 4-5 minutes before adding butter.
- Fine salted egg yolk becomes very foamy when the oil is very hot. If it is not hot enough, it will not be very foamy, which results in a clumpy coating.
Storage Instructions
Not recommended to freeze or store for later. Best to consume immediately after cooking.Serve with
- Fluffy white rice
- Dishes with gravy