My good friend Andrew Hsieh first introduced me to this Asian vegetable, also known as a bitter gourd. Aptly named, bitter melons are intensely bitter, and an acquired taste. They grow well in Iowa, and the plant consists of a beautiful vine with delicate yellow flowers and serrated leaves. They are harvested when green (or white, the color of a variety from Okinawa that I’m growing this season), and ripen into a brilliant cadmium orange. As they it ripen, they split open from the end, revealing bright red seed globules. The red part coats the seeds, and is intensely sweet.
I usually give this vegetable a simple treatment, cutting off an end, scooping out the seeds, and slicing it into thin rings. I then blanch the slices in boiling salted water, run under cold water, and then stir fry in sesame oil with a bit of garlic and ginger. Most recipes are simple, and involve few ingredients. Since it’s so bitter, I’ve developed a dish with venison, a meat with a sweeter flavor, which plays off well with the bitter taste of the vegetable. You could also make it with beef–and it is inspired by beef and broccoli, a standard Chinese restaurant dish.
Venison and Bitter Melon
Ingredients
2-3 lb venison or beef roast
1 bitter melon
1 shallot, minced
2 tblsp minced ginger
4 garlic cloves, minced
2-3 green onions, thinly sliced
2-3 tblsp garlic black bean sauce
2-3 bird chiles or the equivalent (optional)
2-3 tblsp hoisin sauce
1 tsp oyster sauce
1/4 cup chicken stock
white wine
sesame oil
1/2 tsp rice wine vinegar
1/2 tsp sugar
salt to taste
corn starch
Recipe
Slice venison or beef into strips for stir frying. Use your sharpest knife; it also helps to put the meat in the freezer for 10-15 minutes before you slice it. Place in bowl with a good pinch of the minced ginger and garlic, and a splash of white wine. Set aside. Cut end off of bitter melon, and scoop out seeds and pulp. Slice into rings, and cut rings in half. Blanch in boiling salted water for 1 minute, drain, and put in ice water. Heat wok or saute pan over high heat, add sesame oil. Lightly dredge meat in corn starch, and quickly stir fry on both sides, remove from wok and set aside. Heat more oil, and add ginger, garlic, shallots, green onions, and peppers, and stir fry 2-3 minutes. Add garlic black bean sauce and bitter melon and continue to stir fry. Add cooked venison, hoisin and oyster sauce, and mix to combine. Add chicken stock, vinegar and sugar, and adjust seasoning. Serve over steamed white rice.
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