Wednesday, January 21, 2009

Pan Fried Bitter Melon

Earlier, I shared my aunt's recipe of bitter gourd with ribs and bean sauce.

http://hakkafood.blogspot.com/2009/01/aunties-special-bitter-gourd.html

Here is another recipe for those who prefer crunchy rather than soft bitter melon, stir frying would yield the desired results. It takes a shorter time to cook this dish that is refreshing especially in summer time.

  • Soak bitter melon slices in salt water for 10 minutes. Rinse and drain.
  • Dry fry bittermelon in medium heat till slightly dry. Push to the side of the pan or dish up.
  • Caramelise brown sugar. Add a little oil and fry chopped garlic.
  • Return bitter melon to the centre of the heat.
  • Add prawn or chicken slices and fry till cooked.
    The texture of the melon should be a little crunchy.
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3 comments:

Jennifer said...

Have you tried it with zhao (red wine paste)? It is great.

BTW love your blog!

soel said...

Thanks for your compliments.

No, I haven't tried cooking this with red wine lees. I was concerned that the strong wine taste may conflict with the bitter gourd. It's a good tip -- will try out your recommendation next time I cook this dish.

soel said...

A mistake could turn out to be a new discovery. That was what I found out when I used salty black dried olive instead of black bean to make the finishing sauce for the bitter melon dish.
Olive and minced meat is very popular among Teochew Chinese Thai people. My concern that the bitterness of the bitter melon and olive would be overpowering proved unfounded because a spoon of sugar was sufficient to neutralise the bitterness and adds depth to the spicy and strong fermented flavours in the sauce. Eureka!