An acquired love for bitter melon

I never liked bitter melon as a kid, simply because it's bitter. My father said it's an acquired taste that I'd come to like with the maturity of my taste buds. Now I like it so much, it finds its way into soup, stuffed vegetable, pan-fry, and tea.


Recipe 1: Bitter melon soup for 2
In this simple soup, the bitterness of the melon complements the flavor of meat. It's a wonderful prelude to a good dinner.


Ingredients:
- 1 small bitter melon, about 1/4 lb
- 1/2 link of beef sausage, about 1.2 oz, sliced to 1/2" thick
- 1 oz lean pork meat, cut into 1/2" cubes
- small amount of spring onions, finely chopped
- 6 cups water (3 for blanching, 3 for the soup)
- dash of salt and pepper


Procedure:
1. Cut the bitter melon in half. Remove seeds and chop into 1/2" strips. Blanch in 3 cups of boiling water for 2 minutes to reduce the bitter taste.
2. Boil beef sausage and lean pork meat in 3 cups water until meat is cooked (about 10 minutes). Add bitter melon to soup, boil for 1/2 minute. Serve hot in bowl. Sprinkle spring onions on top. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Recipe 2: Stuffed bittermelon
This is a dish for someone who really loves the flavor of bitterness in meat.


Ingredients:
- 1 medium bitter melon
- 1/4 lb minced beef or pork (best with at least 80% leanness)
- 3 tablespoon (TB) onion finely chopped 
- 2 TB bread crumbs
- 1 TB olive oil
- 2 teaspoon (tp) cornstarch in 1 TB water
- 1/2 to 1 tp salt (to taste)
- 1/2 tp sugar
- dash of pepper
- small amount of water


Procedure:
1. Cut bitter melon into half. Scrub clean of seeds and white parts.
2. Mix meat with chopped onion, bread crumbs, and all the seasonings. Knead until smooth and soft. Add some water if too dry. Stuff the bitter melon with the mixture.
3. Bake in oven at 350F for 20 minutes or until meat is cooked.


Along with stuffing the bitter melon, I happened to have a yellow squash on the same day. So I breaded it and baked along. They went well together as a side dish.

Recipe 3: Bitter melon stir-fry with Chinese fermented black bean sauce (douchi)
After various experiments with stir-frying this melon, I still like it best with douchi.


Ingredients:
- 1 bitter melon
- 1 tablespoon (TB) vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon douchi sauce
- 2 TB water


Procedure:
Cut bitter melon to half. Remove seeds and chop into 1/4" strips. Fry in vegetable oil on medium heat. Let cook without water until melon brightens in green. Mix douchi sauce with water. Add sprinkle sauce on melon. Stir and let sizzle for 1/2 minute. Serve.

Italian pesto sauce can be used in place of douchi sauce. Its fine mash of garlic, salt, olive oil and basil makes a great complement to the bitterness, too. When fried with pesto sauce, do not mix pesto with water. Instead, just add pesto at the end and stir until the aroma comes out. Note that pesto sauce has more oil than douchi sauce.