00:00Hello, I'm Yuto and today on Sudachi I'm going to show you how to make a quick and easy Okinawan
00:05Goya Champloo. Let's get straight to it. Here I have one washed Goya, it's about 170 grams.
00:13I'll start by cutting off the top and then cutting it in half lengthways like this.
00:32Next, we need to scoop out the seeds and discard them.
00:47Once that's done, thinly slice them like this. It's important not to cut too thin as the texture
00:53will be lost but not too thick, since the flavour of Goya is very bitter. Finding a middle ground
00:59is ideal.
01:01Goya is the Japanese name for Okinawan bitter melon. It has a strong bitter taste and that's
01:07actually the reason why people love it. The name of the dish is Goya Champloo which means
01:12jumbled bitter melon in Okinawan dialect.
01:17To soften the bitter taste a little, we're just going to rub the surface with a bit of
01:22salt and sugar and leave it to rest for 10 minutes.
01:30While we wait, let's prepare the tofu. I have 200 grams of foam tofu here. Rather than pressing
01:36it to remove the excess liquid, I like to use a shortcut of wrapping it in kitchen paper and
01:43microwaving it for 1 minute and 30 seconds at 600 watts.
01:48When it comes out, it will be very hot so let it cool for a few minutes before trying to
01:53handle it.
01:55Once cooled, cut it into bite-sized cubes. Typically, Goya Champloo is made with a special
02:01Okinawan tofu called Island Tofu but it can be hard to find and regular Fem Tofu works fine.
02:17The Goya has been resting for 10 minutes now so I'm going to wash it with cold water and
02:23drain.
02:45Next let's heat up our pan on medium and add our cooking oil.
02:49Once it's hot, add the tofu and brown it on each side.
03:00I like frying the tofu separately for this dish so that it develops a beautiful, golden
03:05and slightly chewy surface without absorbing the liquids and fats from the other ingredients.
03:14Once it's golden on all sides, transfer it to a wire rack to let the excess oil drain
03:19off.
03:20Using the same pan, add 150g of thinly sliced pork belly and fry until sealed.
03:27If you can't find thinly sliced pork belly like this, unsmoked baker needs good substitute.
03:34The fat from the pork adds amazing flavour to the dish but for plant-based diets, of course
03:40you can leave it out.
03:41Once it's sealed, add the drained Goya and stir fry them together for about 2-3 minutes.
03:53Now you can add tofu back in and add a generous pinch of salt and pepper.
03:58Add 1 teaspoon of soy sauce and mix.
04:02Next we're going to add 1 whisked egg.
04:05Once the egg is added, leave it to become half cooked before mixing again.
04:09This will help the egg break into larger pieces rather than becoming scrambled and mushy.
04:15Finally, add another dash of soy sauce, give it a quick mix and remove it from the heat.
04:27This is optional, but I liked garnish Goya champuru with katsuobushi.
04:32Feel free to add extra salt and pepper to taste and enjoy with rice or noodles.
04:37Thanks so much for watching.
04:38If you want to learn more about this recipe, the link is in the description.
04:42Hope to see you next time.
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