Dear Jay...

Dear Jay,

Wanted to share about this new vege I tried.  Saw a basket of this at one of the grocer stalls and I got intrigued! Papaya flowers are edible, apparently!

All these while, my vege recipes only rotates between a combination of cabbage, bok choy, carrot, broccoli, potato, cucumber, tomato, perhaps some spinach, emperor sprouts, bean sprouts, pumpkin, yam, and a rare eggplant or bitter gourd.  That's my regular range. So why not something new this time!

For bunga betik/papaya flower, a little internet search (in Bahasa Malaysia) did the trick and my takeaway from the netizens is that this papaya flowers are bitter.  So, tips given were to boil it in salt water and guava leaves. The former is in my pantry, the latter is not, so I made do.

With melted rock sugar in oil, throw in chopped garlic, onions, chilli, dried shrimps, and the strained boiled papaya flowers. Then throw in a couple of beaten eggs. Season well and serve.

Tada! I made papaya flower stir fry omelette (of sort).

There may be a bit of bitter aftertaste, but the spice and sweetness help balance the flavours. Will try stir frying it another round with no dried shrimps next time.

Bunga betik can be eaten, who knew! (The kakak selling this was laughing at me when I asked her how to cook them.  "Ni masak guane, kak?"  Then again, she could also be laughing cos I used my Kelantanese accent when I asked her.)

Am trying to add more types of vegetable to my cooking repertoire. So, would get this again. Plus it is also supposed to be good for regulating blood sugar.

Let's also try buying and cooking a different vege next time.