Bitter Melon
Bitter melon:
- It leaves a bitter taste in my mouth.
- Its name says it all.
- It’s an acquired taste…that I haven’t acquired.
True clichés aside, I’m undecided about bitter melon. I think I don’t like it because it’s too bitter-tasting for me. The first time I tried it was when a relative cooked it. I took a bite out of the piece of bitter melon covered in black bean sauce and almost spit it out because it was so bitter. But I took another bite, thinking it couldn’t have been that bitter. It still was. Yet I took another bite because I’m a glutton for punishment. Then I gave up.
I’m not into bitter-tasting things but I’m willing to give bitter melon another try. I know some people find it delicious (others are constantly reaching for it at the supermarket, at the same time I’m grabbing a vegetable that’s bitter melon’s flavor-opposite—a head of Napa cabbage).
So how the heck do you cook the darn thing?
Sliced, and removed of its seeds and core, it can be stir-fried (with seasoned ground pork), used in soups, or stuffed (again with seasoned ground pork) and steamed. The bitterness can be offset with black bean sauce, oyster sauce, garlic, and chillies. If you have a couple more minutes of reading-time, this thread about cooking bitter melon is worth reading.
I love it so much!!!
My mom stir fries it with sliced pork or beef. But Bitter Melon soup is the best!
Vicky: I’m encouraged by your words to try it again. I’m going to get it the next time I’m at a local Vietnamese deli that sells sandwiches (banh mi) and hot food. They have the bitter melon stuffed with ground pork.
- Cindy
to get rid of the bitterness, try to boil it first in water then you can cook it however you like.
Stir-fry with pork and eggs is my favorite dish using this vegetable.
you have to make sure to take out all of the little white bits surrounding the seeds! also, if you soak the sliced melon in salt water for half an hour, it takes out most of the bitter flavor :). goes great with beef on rice!
Tracy and Jeana: Thanks for the tips! I do really want to try it again.
You’re supposed to put the bitter gourd in a slightly salted water to remove the bitterness.
Jolyn: Thanks for your input; I appreciate it!
Another thing that my mom, still to this day, tries to get me to eat. Blech! “You have to keep eating it until you can like it,” she says.
She will cut it in half, scrape the insides out and then slice thin into half moon shapes.
Then she either adds it in with other veggies to stir fry or as Tracy mentioned, she’ll cook it with eggs (egg beaters these days) and some other meat.
Also, she’s cut it ultra fine/shreded it to go with other veggies to make a veggie pancake (kakiage) with tempura batter. I still can taste that bitter, nasty aftertaste though.
Bianca-san
Bianca-san: Oh, that sounds like my mom, except throw in, “It’s good for you.” We all know that what’s good for us doesn’t necessarily taste good! And what’s bad for us does taste good.
Not sure how to say this… but when choosing a bitter melon (we call it bitter gourd here), choose one with wider (fatter?) strips. The closer they are, the more bitter it is.
I like the slight bitter taste though.
Cherrie: Oh, I know what you mean—the ridges, right? Thanks a lot for sharing this tip, which I hadn’t received or read before.
really nice post thanks