Goya champuru
This is one of Okinawa's most classic dishes.
Bitter melon is stir-fried with a mixture of ingredients that takes cultural cues from China, Japan, Indonesia and Okinawa itself. The name champuru is a twist on the Bahasa Indonesian word "campur", which means 'mixture'.
Okinawan food is a mixture itself with influences from its trading partners through centuries of independence and relationships with China and Japan. A long history of pork production means that pork is a much-loved meat in Okinawa and following US occupation after the Second World War, luncheon meats like SPAM also became a popular part of the cuisine.
Bitter melon, however, is iconic in Okinawan cuisine, and this is the most popular way to eat it.
I love it with an Okinawan condiment called koregusu, which is chilli fermented for years in the powerful Okinawan spirit, awamori. The bottle in the picture is my own koregusu which has been fermenting at the time of the photo for 13 years.
Cooking time
<30min
Serves
4-6
Ingredients
- 1 bitter melon
- 300g regular tofu
- 340g pork luncheon meat, cut into large pieces
- 300g pork belly, sliced into bite sized pieces
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 brown onion, sliced
- 1 carrot, cut into batons
- 3 eggs, beaten
- a handful of beansprouts
- flake salt, to season
- 2 tbsp light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp sake
- ½ tsp sugar
- a handful of bonito flakes
Method
- To prepare the bitter melon, split it in half lengthwise and scrape out the seeds and spongy centre with a spoon. Scatter with salt and allow to drain in a colander for 15 minutes. Rinse well in cold water and drain.
- For the tofu, wrap it in absorbent paper and place into a dish with a plate on top. Allow to stand for 15 minutes.
- Heat a wok over high heat and fry the ingredients separately in the following order: luncheon meat, pork, tofu, then the carrot, onion and bitter melon altogether, adding a little oil between each ingredient as needed and transferring the ingredients to a holding plate.
- Return the wok to the heat, add any remaining oil and fry the eggs until just set. Return the fried ingredients to the wok, add the beansprouts, then season with salt, soy sauce, sake, sugar and bonito flakes. Toss to combine, then remove from the wok and add a little more bonito flakes on top. Serve with koregusu (Okinawan chilli fermented in awamori).
