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.