braised stuffed koh gua (bitter melon)
No, it's not a fruity melon. Yes, it is VERY bitter.
In Chinese cuisine, bitter melon is rather popular due to the belief that it provides a "cooling" effect on the body. For those of you familiar with Ayurvedic or Eastern medicine, there is a large focus on balancing the body's temperature. In Chinese culture, the word "qi," translates to "air." Foods that increase the hot qi include deep fried foods, alcohol, and spicy foods. Foods that promote cold qi include leafy greens, some fruits, and some teas. When there is an imbalance of qi, the body suffers from symptoms like canker sores, bloating, constipation, or a cough.
If you're not familiar with bitter melon, you're probably wondering what in the world it is. Don't let the name mislead you because it is not a fruit. It's more like a type of squash. Some people also call it bitter gourd or wild cucumber. There are a few types of this vegetable. The Chinese type (used in this recipe) has a light-green color and rounded ridges all around. The Indian bitter melon has a darker green color and has jagged ridges. There's also a Taiwanese one that resembles the Chinese bitter melon, except its color is more like white cauliflower.
While it tastes nothing like a melon, as the name would suggest, do not underestimate the bitterness of this plant! As a kid, I used to hate eating anything with bitter melon in it because the taste was too strong. Only this year have I begun to slowly acquire a palette that can tolerate and dare I say, enjoy, eating more of this vegetable. (Look out for a future post about pickled bitter melon!)
Today's recipe is very simple and involves using minced meat that you can flavor to your taste. I cheated and just used the meat leftover from making dumplings the night before. To reduce the bitter taste, simply rub salt all over the cored and sliced bitter melon and let it sit for 20 minutes while you marinate the meat.
Ingredients
2 Chinese bitter melons
1 tbsp salt
1/2 lb minced pork
1 inch piece of ginger, minced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 scallions, thinly sliced
8 basil leaves, finely sliced
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp Shaoxing wine
2 tsp sesame oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 medium onion, sliced
1 inch piece of ginger, thickly sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp coconut sugar
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp Shaoxing wine
1/3 cup water
Directions
Divide each bitter melon into quarters so that each piece is a cylinder approximately 1.5 inches tall. Remove the core and seeds from each piece, rub salt all them, and let sit for 20 minutes.
In the mean time, marinate the meat. In a medium mixing bowl, combine the minced pork, minced ginger, 4 cloves minced garlic, scallions, basil, 2 tbsp soy sauce, 2 tbsp Shaoxing wine, sesame oil, and ground black pepper. Mix well, cover, and let sit in refrigerator for the remaining duration of the 20 minutes.
Once 20 minutes have passed, rinse each piece of bitter melon under cold water to rid of all the salt. Let the bitter melon dry in a colander.
Remove the marinated meat from the refrigerator to prepare stuffing the bitter melon. Using a tablespoon, stuff each bitter melon with enough meat to form a small dome shape on the top.
Heat and oil a wide saucepan on medium high heat. Add in onions, 2 cloves of minced garlic, and thick ginger slices. Cook until slightly brown before adding in coconut sugar and the remaining soy sauce and Shaoxing wine. Lower the heat to medium and gently place each stuffed bitter melon onto the bed of onions in the saucepan. Carefully add water into the saucepan, so that you do not pour water directly onto the bitter melon or meat. Cover the saucepan with a lid and let cook for 20 to 25 minutes, while occasionally checking to make sure that the bottom does not burn.
Once the meat has fully cooked, remove from heat and serve hot. Garnish with the caramelized onions at the bottom of the pan.
