Ginisang Ampalaya with Egg

I’ve always had fond memories of this dish because this is a favorite of my maternal Lola.  I saw her cooking this almost every week to pair up with fried fish.  I don’t want to be a hypocrite and say that I liked this back then. There are a lot I didn’t like before and eventually appreciated them as I mature. My Lola and Nanay always used juice from heads of shrimps in sautéing. Unless you have some shrimps just freezing away in your freezer, I use shrimp bouillon instead.

Ginisang Ampalaya with Egg

Ingredients

• 2 pcs medium sized ampalaya, seeded and sliced thinly
• Wash the inner part of the ampalaya in running water. 
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 medium sized onion, chopped
• 1 tomato, chopped
• 1 shrimp bouillon cube
• 3 eggs

 Cooking Procedure

1. In a shallow pan, sauté garlic and onion until soft on medium heat.
2. Typically, especially in Bulacan, we sauté the garlic first until brown and then we add the onions. The reason I sauté them together is because there’s a tendency for the garlic to burn and I really don’t like the bitter taste of burnt garlic. 
3. Add the tomato.
4. Once the tomato has softened as well, add the shrimp bouillon until dissolved.
5. Add the ampalaya and cook for a few minutes.
6. Do not overcook the ampalaya.  The texture should maintain a bit of crunch.
7. Whisk eggs and add a bit of salt.
8. Add the eggs until cooked.