What is a "Goya"?



Actually, it should probably be romanized "gohyah" (ゴーヤー), but that looks too weird. It's the Okinawan word for bitter melon (Japanese: nigauri, 苦瓜; Chinese: ku-gwa), which figures prominently in Okinawan (and south Chinese) cuisine. Packed with vitamins , it's part of a healthy Okinawan diet and is best known as the key ingredient in goya champuru (a kind of stir-fry dish with tofu, eggs, and maybe some pork). It looks like a dimply cucumber. Although an acquired taste, I took a fancy to goya a few years ago so when I established my .mac email account I decided on "goyaboy@mac.com" and have since kept up the theme. My iPod is "goyapod," my Sony Ericsson T616 is "goyacell" and this blog is hereby christened "goyablog." Like the goya, this blog will be chock full o' nutrients for a long and healthy life.

Posted: Sun - February 22, 2004 at 11:42 PM           |

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