Bitter gourds have long been prized in Asia for a trait considered a defect in cucumbers: bitterness. We tend to believe that anything bitter is medicinal and, in this case, we could be correct. The bitter gourd is said to cure a wide range of ailments – from gastrointestinal conditions to cancers, and from diabetes to HIV.
Also known as bitter melons, bitter gourds are pale green, with an irregular, warty surface. Typically, they are eaten following initial treatment to remove some of the bitterness; often they are stuffed, to complement their somewhat eccentric bite.
The soup I bring you today has an excellent balance of flavors, with the bitterness of the gourd lingering only as a closing resonance. It feels rather refreshing on the palate, clearing the taste buds for the next bite.
Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome this delightfully healthy and flavorful dish: an outstanding clear soup of bitter gourd stuffed with pork and glass noodles.
Tom Yam is a type of soup with distinct sharp hot and sour flavors, scented with pleasant citrusy aroma.
Tom Yam is known to seduce many westerners to fall in love with Thailand, its people and food. Many trips memories to Thailand were written in diaries, others are etched on film but all are stained by the Tom Yam charm.
I still remember with vivid colors my first bowl of Tom Yam, in the night market of the old neighborhood on a hot night in a ragged, unfashionable part of Bangkok. Where the smell of cooking and the glare of florescent lights decorated the alley where JeMoi used to own a restaurant, a very simple and very good one, decorated with cheap bamboo chairs and peeling orange walls. I would enjoy watching the streets of the early night turning into mornings, eating, drinking and sweating. It was hard to say if I was sweating from the hot and humid weather, the cheap whiskey or JeMoi’s spicy food. I still smile when I think of her, standing by my table with a winning smile, as if she knew how much I enjoy the food.
Here is a quick, tasty dish that allows me to be genuinely emotional: from the tears I shed each time I chop the mountain of shallots…to my delighted grin when I behold the beautiful, deep amber color flaunted by the chicken after less than 15 minutes of preparation – a hue that one might expect to see only in a gourmet magazine photo…
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