This recipe was updated on 04 Oct 2015. Some instructions
and ingredient quantities were changed, and metric measurements added.
Bitter melon, for those who are not familiar with this
vegetable, tastes exactly as it’s named and could be considered an acquired
taste. I happen to like bitter melon and you can easily moderate the bitterness
of the melon to your taste. If you just remove the seeds and pith from the
center of the bitter melon and cook it, the bitterness will depend upon the vegetable’s
age and could be rather strong. Some people like their bitter melon this way
(try it this way with pork spareribs).
Salting and then washing the sliced bitter melon turns out
to be the easiest and fastest way to remove any excess bitterness. If the
bitter melon is slightly wet, the salt does a better job. I just use wet hands
to mix the bitter melon slices and salt together, and that seems to do the
trick. You only need 5 minutes to reduce the bitterness. The bitterness will
diminish further the longer you leave the salt on the bitter melon, and is
mostly removed after 10 minutes. For me, that defeats the purpose of eating
this vegetable, and you’re probably losing the nutrients and health benefits. I
can see how getting rid of the bitterness is a way to get your kids to eat this
vegetable. You can get them acclimated to the taste and then ramp up the
bitterness over time! Another method to reduce bitterness involves blanching
the bitter melon before stir frying, but you need another pot and boiled water.
The texture of the bitter melon will also be different if you use the blanching
method.
The Eggs
with Bitter Melon (Pancake Style) (苦瓜炒蛋, Fu2
Gwaa1 Caau2 Daan6) recipe is another
version of this dish, where you make an egg pancake with the bitter melon. The
preparation is the same, but the cooking method differs.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
6
|
6
|
Eggs (雞蛋, gai1
daan6)
|
½ tsp.
|
2.5 ml.
|
Ground white
pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
|
½ tsp.
|
2.5 ml.
|
Salt (鹽, jim4)
|
1 tsp.
|
5 ml.
|
Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
|
|
|
|
1
|
1
|
Small-sized bitter
melon (苦瓜, fu2 gwaa1), halved and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
|
1 tsp.
|
5 ml.
|
Salt (鹽, jim4)
|
|
|
Oil for cooking
|
Sauce Ingredients
|
|
Lee Kum Kee brand Premium Oyster Sauce (蠔油, hou4 jau4) or
equivalent, as a topping (optional)
|
Equipment
14 in.
|
35.5 cm.
|
Wok or pan
|
Bitter Melon Halved |
Instructions
- Take the eggs out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking. Crack and scramble the eggs in a bowl with the ground white pepper, salt (optional), and sesame oil. Depending upon the size of the bitter melon, fewer or more eggs may be needed.
- Wash and cut the bitter melon in half. Using a spoon, remove and discard the pith and seeds from each bitter melon half. Cut ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces from each bitter melon half. Wet the bitter melon pieces and add salt for 5 minutes to remove any excess bitterness. Wash the salt from the bitter melon. The amount of bitterness removed by the salt is proportional
Bitter Melon Cleaned - Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the bitter melon to the wok and stir fry until the bitter melon until tender.
- Add the scrambled egg mixture to the bitter melon. Move the mixture around to prevent a skin from forming on the eggs and also to incorporate the bitter melon into the eggs. The dish is done when the eggs are fluffy and still look a little wet, but are not totally dry. Turn off the heat and immediately remove the cooked ingredients
Bitter Melon Cut
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