THE CHINESE CUCURBITS - Growing Chinese Vegetables in Your Own Backyard - page 53

DID YOU KNOW?
Bitter melon is one of those vegetables for which there's no equivalent in the roster of our Western foods.
As you may gather from its name, its flavor is definitely bitter; at first it startles the taste buds, then it
becomes a delight. The bitterness is due to the presence of quinine. (Because of this ingredient, the dried
melon has been used in Chinese medicines.) If you like tonic water or the Bitter Lemon soft drink from
England (both contain quinine), you will surely like this vegetable. Even if you don't, make room for it
in your kitchen, as you'll find its flavor a welcome change.
CULINARY USES
CLASSIC CHINESE BEAN DISH . A classic Chinese dish is bitter melon prepared with fer-
mented black beans. Any market that carries Chinese foods will have these prepared
soybeans; they are called dow sei . Here's how to make the dish:
1. Soak the fermented beans in water for 10 minutes before using, as they are heavily
salted.
2. To make the sauce, combine the fermented black beans with minced garlic and set
aside.
3. Cut the unpeeled melon in half and remove the seeds to make room for stuffing.
4. To make the stuffing, combine raw minced pork, raw minced shrimp, finely chopped
water chestnuts, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar; blend with the bean and garlic mix-
ture. Fill the cavity with these combined ingredients. Heap the stuffing high because
it will shrink in cooking.
5. Cook until the melon is tender. Steaming the stuffed halves will take about 40 minutes.
Alternative. Slice the unpeeled melon, remove the seeds, dip the slices in cornstarch,
lightly brown on both sides in a little sesame oil, then steam until tender. You can also
bake or braise the cut melon halves.
If you haven't used up all the black beans, stir-fry them with minced garlic in sesame
oil for 1 minute and store them in the refrigerator. They are called for in many other
Chinese dishes.
STIR-FRY . A quick and easy-to-prepare Chinese dish is stir-fried melon and chicken. If
very bitter, first parboil the melon for 3 minutes. Then cut both chicken and melon into
small chunks. Stir-fry melon for 1 minute, add chicken, and fry a few minutes more.