Papaya flowers are often purchased to be soaked in honey as a traditional remedy. However, creative home cooks have come up with delicious and unique ways to cook with these flowers, eliminating any bitterness.
## Papaya Flowers: A Unique Ingredient
Papaya flowers, particularly the male flowers, are known for their bitter taste. While some people enjoy this unique flavor, others may prefer to reduce the bitterness before cooking.
### Reducing the Bitterness:
When using papaya flowers in your dishes, a simple trick to reduce their bitterness is to remove the stems and keep only the blossoms. Briefly blanch the flowers in boiling salted water for a minute, then plunge them into cold water. Finally, rinse and squeeze out the excess water before using them in your recipes.
### Delicious and Unusual Dishes with Papaya Flowers:
#### Vegan Stir-fried Papaya Flowers:
Treat papaya flowers as a vegetable and stir-fry them like any other green. For a vegan dish, combine them with eggplants, carrots, and oyster mushrooms. You can also add young papaya shoots, prepared in the same way as the flowers. Simply stir-fry the ingredients with some garlic, adding your preferred seasonings to taste.
#### Papaya Flowers with Beef:
Similar to the vegan dish, stir-fry the papaya flowers with thinly sliced beef for a heartier, sweeter dish. Marinate the beef with seasonings and a little cornstarch, along with some oil, to keep it tender. Quickly stir-fry the garlic and beef, then add the prepared papaya flowers and your choice of seasonings.
#### Papaya Flowers with Chicken Hearts:
Papaya flowers help neutralize the strong flavor of chicken hearts, making this an unusual yet tasty combination. Sauté garlic and onions, then add the cleaned and sliced chicken hearts, stir-frying until they are no longer pink. Toss in the papaya flowers and season to taste.
#### Steamed Fish with Papaya Flowers:
The bitterness of papaya flowers counterbalances the fishy odor of steamed fish, while the fish itself reduces the bitterness of the flowers. Clean and scale the fish, then rub it with a mixture of ginger wine to eliminate any fishy smell. Marinate the fish with a blend of pepper, salt, seasoning powder, MSG, chopped scallions, coriander, and parsley, along with a little oil. Wear gloves and massage the mixture into the fish. Wrap the fish with papaya leaves, banana leaves, and papaya flowers, using several layers or adding foil and banana leaves. Steam for about 40 minutes until the fish is cooked through. The result is a flavorful dish where the slight bitterness of the papaya flowers, the mild astringency of the bananas, and the richness of the pork belly combine to create a unique and delicious meal.
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