About Bitter Melon
To this day, the post for bitter melon curry remains one of my most popular.
Every time I post a picture of bitter melon on Instagram, people ask about it.
So I thought I’d discuss it a bit more here.
Bitter melon is a member of the gourd family. Jennifer McLagan, writing in her seminal Bitter, The Cookbook, describes it as
probably the bitterest vegetable you will ever encounter.
Prior to Bitter’s 2014 publication, my experiences with bitter melon involved sailing past them in Berkeley Bowl whilst searching for the lemongrass. But then I was sent Bitter for review, and because I was a scrupulous reviewer who tested recipes, I bought bitter melon.
I feared my husband would hate bitter melon, but reasoned I’d do my writerly duty and that would be that. To my surprise, we both loved it.
Because it is so bitter (insert Joyce Carol Oates joke here) bitter melon is of course extremely good for you. Cancer curing, immune-boosting, life-prolonging, you know the drill.
Just consider what a healthy diet has done for the inhabitants of the IK.
(Yes, that is a joke.)
(not bitter melon. but pretty.)
Bitter melon is easy to prepare. The entire vegetable is edible; the larger the specimen, the more bitter it will be. Some people get around this by blanching the vegetable in lightly salted water. I am not one of these people.
A few ways with bitter melon:
Nancy Hachisu, writing in Japanese Farm Food, describes Goya Champaru, which is bitter melon with scrambled egg and hot pepper. Hachisu uses the best canola oil and salt. Stir-fry these ingredients and eat very hot as a pre-dinner bite, accompanied by a cold beer.
Carolyn Phillips and Fuchsia Dunlop, writing in All Under Heaven and Land Of Plenty, respectively, give the classic Chinese recipe for dry-fried bitter melon: a smear of peanut oil, sliced bitter melons, salt. This tastes best straight from the wok.
A personal, entirely inauthentic favorite Chez IK is bitter melon stir-fried with garlic, ginger, scallion, soy sauce, and salt. This dish, bitter melon with garlic, ginger, and scallion, is cannot rightly be called Chinese, as it is prepared in the kitchen of a Jewish woman from Oak Park, Michigan.
We can say bitter melon with garlic, ginger, and scallion is Chinese and Jewish, making it American: larger than a single plate, bigger than a border, able to be handed over a wall.
Serve with rice.
Feed multitudes.
Bitter melon stir-fried with garlic, ginger, and scallion
serves: 2-4 as a side dish; easily scaled up or down
preparation time: 10 minutes
You will need a wok or large, heavy frying pan to make this dish.
1-2 garlic cloves, crushed, peeled, and minced
a small piece of ginger [about 1/2 teaspoon] smashed and finely sliced
1 scallion, sliced into rings
1-3 bitter melon [4-6 ounces/113-116g] halved, seeded, and sliced into half moon shapes
Peanut oil, for the wok
regular soy sauce and salt, to taste
Instructions
Crush and mince the garlic. Smash the ginger and finely slice it. Trim and slice the scallion. Place these in a small dish near the wok.
Halve the bitter melon and scrape the seeds out using a paring knife or small spoon. The seeds are edible, and you can include them in the stir-fry if you wish. I prefer to discard them.
Trim the bitter melon into half moon shapes and either leave them on cutting board or place in small bowl near the wok.
Heat the empty wok on high heat until just under smoking point. Carefully add enough oil to coat the bottom of the wok without making the food swim: depending the pan size, one to two tablespoons will suffice.
Add the garlic, ginger, and scallion, stir-frying for thirty seconds. Turn the heat down if necessary; you want the aromatics to cook but not burn. Tip in the bitter melon and cook, stir frying continually, three to five minutes, until edges of vegetable sear nicely. Add soy sauce to taste–I like about a tablespoon–and a generous pinch salt. Serve immediately.
Stir-fried bitter melon is delicious with rice.
Also try:
-adding Korean Rice Cakes
-a few drops of sesame oil
– hot pepper oil.
-a few slices of pork tenderloin
-scrambled egg
-hot red pepper flakes
Stir-fried bitter melon will keep, refrigerated, three to four days. Freezing is not recommended.
Notes:
While bitter melon is most widely available in spring, I find it year-round at my local farmer’s market and at Berkeley Bowl. Communities with large Asian populations may also find year-round sources of bitter melon at local farmer’s markets or Asian markets. The farmer’s market near me not only sells bitter melon, it sells bitter melon leaves, which make the melons themselves taste sugary.
Larger bitter melons are more bitter; you can blanch them briefly in lightly salted water if you wish. Seeds can be red or white, and are edible.
Bitter melon from a few weeks ago. We really do eat this all the time.
