Ingredients

1 medium-sized bitter gourd
2 oz. ground beef
2 oz. ground pork
(instead of red meat, you can substitute ground chicken breast meat, minced fish or chopped shrimp)
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp. of breadcrumbs
1 tbsp. of grated carrot
1 tbsp. of finely chopped onions
1 tsp. of finely minced garlic
salt and pepper

Preparation

To remove the excess bitterness, place the bitter gourd in a glass bowl and sprinkle liberally with rock salt. Cover and let stand for at least 20 minutes. With your thumb and forefinger, carefully squeeze out the water expelled by the bitter gourd. Wash and place in a clean bowl. Pour boiling water over the bitter gourd and allow to soak for five minutes. Drain, splash with cold water and drain again.

Cut off the top and bottom ends. Cut the body into 2-inch thick rings. With a sharp narrow knife, cut around cavity of the bitter gourd to remove the inner flesh and seeds. Or slit the bitter gourd lengthwise and scrape out the inner flesh and seeds.

Mix together the rest of the ingredients to make the filling. Use a tablespoon of the meat mixture to stuff the cavities pressing to pack in the filling well. Place in a shallow baking pan and bake in a 350oF oven for 25-30 minutes or until the top of the filling is lightly browned.

Note that if you’re using fish, chicken or shrimp for your filling you may have to lightly grease the baking pan to avoid sticking. This isn’t necessary if you’re using ground pork in the mixture because whatever fat it has will grease the pan during cooking.
Allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.