Recipe - Goya Champuru

Goya, a bitter gourd, is the vegetable mascot that represents the southern islands of Okinawa. In Okinawa it is called goya or throughout the rest of the country, nigauri. Uri is Japanese for gourd and niga comes from nigai, or bitter. It is rich in vitamin C and extremely bitter. In Okinawa it is commonly stir-fried with some tofu in a dish called goya champuru. To remove some of the bitterness it can be massaged with salt once it is cut up and then rinsed. Another local dish in Okinawa is goya dressed with a gomasu dressing of toasted sesame paste with vinegar, the dish is called goya no usachi. In Kagoshima, a popular dish is boiled nigauri topped with katsuobushi (bonito flakes) in a dish called nigagoi okaka. It comes into season in February.

This dish here in this posting is simply nigauri, pork sausage, and eggs stir-fried and simply seasoned with salt and pepper. Slice the nigauri from tip to tip, remove the soft flesh inside with a spoon and cut into thin slices. Sprinkle with salt and rinse in water to remove the bitterness.