Amazing! This Is Now Less Bitter Than Before.
When I was a child, I often ate bitter melon stir-fried with beef and black bean sauce at home. Because of the bitter flavor, I didn’t like the melon. Surprisingly, when I tried cooking this gourd differently last month, it was actually decent!
Below are some links to more details, including photos:
My Story
When I saw bitter melon on sale at a local supermarket, I remembered that my younger son was curious about it. Since I didn’t have fond memories of it growing up, I didn’t buy it. Instead, I searched for a recipe in case I changed my mind in the future.
Inspiring Recipe
With a recipe that provided two ways to combat the bitterness, I bought a couple when I saw bitter melon on sale again. According to Vietnamese Bitter Melon Stir-Fry with Eggs on the blog, Delightful Plate, it helps to select the right ones and soak them.
First Try
With the main ingredient purchased, I was ready to combine it with the remaining items at home.
Ingredients to Use
Starting with 6.63 ounces of bitter melon, I also measured out the following ingredients:
- 4 eggs*
- 1 teaspoon of salt (to soak the bitter melon)
- About half a 1/8 teaspoon of salt (to season the eggs)
- 1/8 teaspoon of fish sauce (for the non-vegetarian version)
In addition, I substituted one of the ingredients on the recipe as follows:
- Avocado oil instead of olive oil
Lastly, I used some ground black peppercorns from a rainbow peppercorn grinder.
*When I was converting the default recipe, I chose the higher number in the range for the eggs, but I was curious whether that would work if I had only medium eggs available. According to A Guide to Egg Size Conversions for Recipes from The Spruce Eats website, my method would’ve been fine.
Steps to Prepare
I followed the seven steps in the instructions with some minor adjustments to steps 4 and 6. After soaking the bitter melon slices for 30 minutes, I used a metal spoon on an iron skillet instead of a spatula or wooden spoon on a non-stick pan.
Time to Eat
After the dish was done, I couldn’t wait to see if the tricks in the recipe actually decreased the bitterness in the melon slices.
Recipe Rating
Below were the results of the recipe after the first try:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
The eggs were tasty from the reliable salt and pepper and the bitter melon slices were only slightly bitter. What a pleasant surprise!
Second Try
For the second time around, I just wanted to repeat the process to confirm that I could cook bitter melon without the strong bitter taste.
Ingredients to Use
With 17.07 ounces of bitter melon this time, I increased the remaining ingredients as follows:
- 11 eggs
- 1/2 tablespoon + 1 1/3 teaspoon of salt (to soak the bitter melon)
- 1/8 teaspoon of salt (to season the eggs)
- 1/3 teaspoon of fish sauce
Steps to Prepare
With more ingredients this time, I used a wok and spatula instead of an iron skillet and metal spoon. Though there was enough room to stir-fry everything, it was harder to flip the eggs in one shot.
Time to Eat
Here’s the second batch ready for tasting.
Recipe Rating
Below are the results of the recipe from the second attempt:
| Number of Ingredients | Effort (Low🤏, Medium🤏🤏, High🤏🤏🤏) | Cost per Serving (<$2💰, $2-5💰💰, >$5💰💰💰) | Taste (Not for me🤔, Trying Again🙂, Eating Regularly😋) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6️⃣ | 🤏 | 💰 | 🙂 |
The bitter melon slices were softer this time, but the dish had no overpowering bitterness!
Both attempts in making this stir-fry resulted in a similar taste, but the first try seemed to have a little bit more kick, so next time, I will try the following:
Continuous Improvement
- Sauté the bitter melon only until it’s slightly soft and add more pepper before serving the dish.
After finding out recently that bitter melon can be enjoyable, I’d like to share the following with my previous self:
Lesson for Dumber Self
- A food that you disliked when you were a child could turn into something you like!
What will you do now?
Next Step for You
- Try the recipe, Vietnamese Bitter Melon Stir-Fry with Eggs, from the blog, Delightful Plate?
- Learn more about converting different sizes of eggs for a recipe? (A Guide to Egg Size Conversions for Recipes from The Spruce Eats website was a great reference for me.)
- Read another post on this site? (Go to the menu at the top of the page.)