Bitter melon is an odd little vegetable. Most don't know what in the world to do with it. Even it's appearance is a bit...well...odd. Imagine a cucumber that has erupted with the worst case of warts you've ever seen. Don't believe me? See for yourself.




My favorite method of cooking this mysterious "melon" is by stirfrying it with pork and garlic. It's a recipe one of my mother's Chinese friends taught me, and I've loved eating it this way ever since. Plus, it's super easy to do.

The first thing you need to do is clean and blanch the melon in a couple of changes of water. This softens the melon and also takes some of the bitterness out of it. They don't call this vegetable bitter melon for nothing. I always like to compare the flavor to the white inner pith of a grapefruit. Imagine chowing down into that for fun. Some cooks prefer to simply sprinkle the raw bitter melon with salt to get rid of the bitterness...that works too, but I like my melon softer than usual, so blanching works best for my preferences.

Next, cube some lean pork into bite sized pieces. If you prefer a more pork to melon ratio, I'd suggest using ground pork, which thoroughly covers every piece of melon when cooked together. Also, make sure you have some finely minced or crushed garlic. Use fresh as garlic powder won't taste anything like the real thing in this recipe.




Add oil to a hot wok or skillet. Add your pork, then the garlic and stirfry until pork is almost done. Add bitter melon and stirfry some more until pork is done and melon reaches desired consistency. I don't like mine falling apart, but I like it softer than al dente. There should be very little to no resistance when I bite in.

All done. Pardon the fuzziness. It was still hot when I took this shot, and the steam kept fogging up my camera lens.

Or so my mother told me. Why is it that everything that is supposed to be good for you has to taste bitter? Luckily, a little blanching in water and sautee with some pork and garlic has these warty little cucumbery veggies tasting just fine...bitterness and all. My new Totoro bento box. I'm really starting to love these plastic snap lid bentos. Maybe I should start selling off my quasi wood ones? Hmmmm....

I ate this bento on Friday but am just posting it now because I've been running around like a madwoman. *yawn* Will try to do a better job this week, but I make no promises.