Turkey and Eggs with Bitter Melon (苦瓜火雞炒蛋, Fu2 Gwaa1 Fo2 Gai1 Caau2 Daan6)

This recipe was updated on 25 Sep 2015. Some instructions and ingredient quantities were changed.

I had some marinated ground turkey and bitter melon in my refrigerator and was trying to figure out what to do with these ingredients to make dinner. I thought about making a dish with a spicy black bean sauce, which sounded yummy in my mind, but I decided that recipe could wait until a later date. I then thought about the Eggs with Bitter Melon (Scrambled Style) (苦瓜炒蛋, Fu² Gwaa¹ Caau² Daan⁶) and Eggs with Bitter Melon (Pancake Style) (苦瓜炒蛋, Fu² Gwaa¹ Caau² Daan⁶) recipes, and decided that I could modify the scrambled style dish to incorporate ground turkey. So this recipe is the result, and you could just as easily use ground pork or beef to make this dish.

I usually buy and marinate a 2-3 lb. (1-1.5 kg.) package of ground turkey. Only ½ lb. (250 g.) of the turkey is used for this recipe, so the rest can be used to make turkey burgers or to make other dishes: Asparagus Turkey, Spaghetti with Basil Turkey Meatballs, Turkey Basil Cheeseburger with Tzatziki Sauce, and Turkey Basil Mushroom Egg Cheeseburger. The recipe specifies marinade for ½ lb. (250 g.) of ground turkey.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

½ lb.	250 g.	Ground turkey (火雞, fo2 gai1)
½ in.	15 mm.	Knob of ginger (薑, goeng1), crushed in a garlic press
2 cloves	2 cloves	Garlic (蒜, syun3), crushed in a garlic press
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Corn starch (粟粉, suk1 fan2)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Soy sauce (豉油, si6 jau4)
1 Tbs.	15 ml.	Hoisin sauce (海鮮醬, hoi2 sin1 zoeng3)
2 Tbs.	30 ml.	Shaoxing rice wine (紹興酒, siu6 hing1 zau2) or dry sherry
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
1 lb.	500 g.	Bitter melon (苦瓜, fu2 gwaa1), halved and cut into ½-inch (15 mm.) pieces
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Salt (鹽, jim4)
6	6	Eggs (雞蛋, gai1 daan6), scrambled
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Salt (鹽, jim4), optional
½ tsp.	2.5 ml.	Ground white pepper (白胡椒, baak6 wu4 ziu1)
1 tsp.	5 ml.	Sesame oil (麻油, maa4 jau4)
		Oil for cooking
		Lee Kum Kee brand Premium Oyster Sauce (蠔油, hou4 jau4), or equivalent, as a condiment for the eggs (optional)

 

Equipment

		Garlic press
14 in.	35.5 cm.	Wok or pan

 

Preparation Instructions

1. Marinate the turkey in a covered container for at least one hour or overnight in the refrigerator with the ginger and garlic crushed in a garlic press, corn starch, soy sauce, hoisin sauce, Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry, ground white pepper, and sesame oil. If marinating the turkey overnight, take it out of the refrigerator at least one hour before cooking.
2. 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 to the time before washing from the bitter melon. If you like more bitterness, the salt can be omitted altogether or the time reduced. If you like less bitterness, the time can be increased (after 10 minutes, most of the bitterness will be removed).
3. Crack the eggs into a bowl and then add the sesame oil, salt (optional), and white pepper. Vigorously scramble the ingredients together.

Lee Kum Kee Brand
Premium Oyster Sauce
(蠔油, hou4 jau4)

Cooking Instructions

1. Heat a wok or pan over high heat before adding oil. Add the turkey to the wok in a single layer on the bottom and brown the outside, breaking up any clumps that form. You may have to cook the turkey in batches, so be sure to reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil. Transfer the turkey to a bowl.
2. Reheat the wok over high heat before adding more oil and then the bitter melon. Stir fry the bitter melon pieces until tender. Add the bowl with the turkey back into the wok and mix the ingredients together.
3. Add the scrambled egg mixture to the wok. Move the mixture around to prevent a skin from forming on the eggs and also to incorporate the bitter melon and ground turkey 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 to the serving dish. Optionally top with Lee Kum Kee brand Premium Oyster Sauce, or equivalent, to the finished dish and serve with steamed rice.