Chinese Bitter Melon Recipe

Today, we are going to make something special - bitter melon. Have you ever wondered what it is and how to cook it when you see it at the Asian grocery stores? So, I am going to share the easiest recipe that you can cook it - Stir Fry Bitter Melon With Garlic (蒜蓉炒苦瓜)

INGREDIENTS
500 grams of bitter melon
1 tsp of salt to reduce the bitter taste
6-8 pieces of dried red chilies
3-4 pieces of fresh red chilies
3 cloves of garlic
1-2 tbsp of cooking oil
Salt to taste (I used 3/4 tsp)

INSTRUCTIONS
Cut the bitter melon in half, then quarter it. Remove the white spongy inside part. You can use a rounded teaspoon to scrape the last bits of the white part.
Cut it with a 45-degree angle into 1/3 of an inch thick slices. Season it with 1 tsp of salt. Rub for a few minutes. Let it sit for 15 minutes.
Cut some red, dried chilies open and remove the seeds.
Roughly dice some fresh red chilies
Press 5 cloves of garlic through a garlic presser.
Optionally, prepare 1 tsp of Sichuan peppercorns.
Now go back and check out the bitter melon. Squeeze out as much moisture as you can.
Rinse the bitter melon with cold running water several times. Drain it but doesn’t need to be thorough. A little bit of excess water will make sure the garlic doesn’t burn as fast when stir-frying.
Add 1-2 tbsp of oil to the wok along with the Sichuan peppercorns. Turn the heat to low. As the temperature climbs up slowly, the oil will be seasoned with the peppercorn flavor.
Once you see the color of the peppercorns is getting dark, you can take them out and discard them. Turn the heat to medium. Add in the bitter melon, dried chili, fresh chili, and garlic. Stir for a couple of minutes.
Give it a taste and then add the salt to adjust the flavor. Be generous with the salt amount especially if you have never tried bitter melon before because the salt will suppress a little bit of the bitter taste. Give it a final stir and you are done.

[mrsbucket]

I am originally from Suriname in South America. We stuff the soporopo with seasoned beef, chicken or fish and than stew it in a gravy. Or I like to stir fry it with dried shrimp or smoked fish with lots of garlic an a touch of sugar and hot sauce or sambal. It is one of my favourite vegetable dishes. With jasmine rice. And it is very good for you. Greetings from the Netherlands

[sunflowerbaby]

Thanks for this recipe
Whenever I see the vegetables in the Asian market, they all look delicious, however I don't know even what they are let alone how to cook them. Maybe you would consider doing a series on how to prepare all the different Asian vegetables. I would truly appreciate that.

So next time I'm at the store I'm going to give the bitter melon a try. 😁

[KOREAMOM]

*Hi~~From Korea*
*We also have bitter melon, but I've never had it for food, but for facial washing~~*
우리는 저것을 여주라고부르는데 세안용으로 쓰지만 볶아먹는것은 처음봐요
참 신기하네요^^👍👍👍🥒🥒🥒

[evanschneider]

Love, love, love bitter melon! I like to slice it into rings after removing seeds and let the rings soak in milk. Then I make a tempura batter and deep fry them. Totally not a traditional way to prepare it, but my Chinese friend in China love it like this.

[gunnymedeiros]

I totally agree with Micheal W. below. Except I use a Filipino bottle of seasoned shrimp mixture for additional flavor.
Masarup !!

[jeanlow]

Love it with scrambled eggs. My husband’s aunt introduced me to it.

[maylendiaz]

My husband did that with eggs end tomatoes y more ingredients and is so delicious 🤤

[aprillomina]

Ok, I'm going to try this. Watching this on Father's Day, and my dad was great pals with the produce guys. They turned him on to all the new and different (from middle American) fruits and vegetables. Thanks!!

[TobaccoPipesJapan]

I love it! My family eats it every week in the summer. Full of vitamin C. I like to stirfry it with beef, baby corn a little brown sugar, oyster sauce, soy sauce, garlic, and ginger. If you follow the "Souped Up Recipes" chef instructions of soaking it, you'll have no worries.

[georgebartholemew]

You're not the only one! Many of us enjoy bitter, pungent, sour, spicy tastes. This does not rule our lives but we can use this to enhance our lives.

[franklinchinquee]

My family, Hakka, came from Canton City in China more than a hundred years ago and ended up in Jamaica. We never squeezed the juice or cooked bitter melon (foogah) alone. It was always with pork. And yes, as a child I hated it, but as I got older I started to appreciate the bitter taste. I still oftentimes cook it with pork as pork has a characteristic sweetness, and really enjoy. In Jamaica, there is a native kind called cerasee. It's much smaller and not eaten. But I used to suck on the ripe red seeds. Thanks bunches.

[colby_]

One of my favourite vegetable!! The funny thing is I like it since I was a kid haha.

[tayafabijanic]

Thank you for this great recipe. I ended up omitting the chilli and putting in ginger as well as I also made a Szechuan eggplant dish. These two complemented each other well. So a big thank you. Easy to make and delicious. Can't wait to make it again.

[a]

Bittermelon rocks! I use to cook it with garlic, ginger, douchi, yellow hot pepper and beef. I had it several ways but the way I had it in chinese restaurants is the one I cook it at home. But I don't rinse it; for me, the bitternes is a must in bittermelon :D

[rachelkawaii]

That part about your parents telling you to endure the bitter taste was amazing. My parents just tells me if I eat it more there will come a time when it's not bitter anymore 😂😂😂😂

[joypolk]

Thank you for this recipe, I’ve seen the bitter melon in my local Asian store but had no idea how to use it. Will make a nice side dish.

[AllyCakes]

OMG I love bitter melon! I prefer it super bitter tho lol

[RandolphChandler]

This is great, I grow and eat bitter melon (qugua) weekly based on a hunan recipe. This is very good for blood sugar!

[VladimirSutinovski]

Omg this plant is amazing!
I see it every day in my local Chinese grocery and I decided to google the preparation.
I followed your video to the T and I have to say I am in love with Bitter Mellon, and I love your video too.
Thank you so much ❤
By the way I am Macedonian living in Australia so this was the first time I had the pleasure of having this vegetable. Thumbs way up!

[jimdrennan]

One of my favorites, cooked with salty garlic black bean. I will now try your recipe. Thanks.