Are you ready to treat your taste buds for some “bitterawesomeness”? You might have seen these green spiky little fellas in your local market (I got mine from a local grocer called Taj), and never thought what you could do with them. Well, in this post I will share an authentic Chinese recipe that’ll be a perfect start to your bitter melon journey.
These are called Karela, also known as bitter melon or bitter gourd. They’re commonly seen in Asian countries and despite the odd appearance and of course, the bitter taste, they’re actually quite nutritious and therefore provide several health benefits.
Long story short, bitter melon is one of my mom’s favourite vegetables. She used to cook bitter melon all the time when I was young. At first, it was a bit challenging, but against all the odds, I eventually fell in love with it and bitter melon became one of my favourite vegetables ever since.
One of the most popular ways for us to cook bitter melon in China is to stir fry it with pork belly slices （苦瓜炒肉 kǔ guā chǎo ròu）. The texture and taste of this dish work very well together and it goes perfectly with rice. That being said, my husband Yanni to this day still couldn’t bring himself to eat bitter melon, but I will never quit offering 😉
To the brave, to the curious, to the bitter melon lovers, here is the recipe!
Bitter Melon & Pork Belly Stir Fry Recipe
Course: MainCuisine: ChineseDifficulty: Easy3
servings20
minutes10
minutesThis authentic Chinese recipe will show you how to make a delicious and healthy bitter melon and pork belly stir fry dish.
Ingredients
Pork belly 250g
Karela x 2
Ginger 2g
Garlic 3 cloves
Spring onion x 1
Shaoxing cooking wine 2 tsp
Light soy 2 tsp
Dark soy 1 tsp
Oyster sauce 1 tsp
Corn starch 1 tbsp
Sugar 1 tsp
Directions
- Thinly slice 250 pork bellies and put them in a bowl.
- Add 2 tsp of Shaoxing cooking wine, 2 tsp of light soy, 1 tsp dark soy, 1 tsp oyster sauce, 1 tbsp corn starch, 1 tsp sugar, mix well and set it aside.
- Cut bitter melons in half.
- Remove seeds.
- Cut into around 3mm thick half-moon slices.
- Finely chop the ginger, garlic and spring onion. Put them on a plate and set them aside.
- Put 3 cups of water into a saucepan and add 1 tsp of olive oil. Bring it to a boil. Put the bitter melon slices in and let them boil for 40 seconds.
- Take the bitter melon slices out and soak in cold water, repeat 3 times. (The above process is called blanching and shocking, which is a very common way to partially cook/prepare vegetables in China. This process is used to preserve the colour and crunch of the vegetables).
- Heat up a cooking pot and add 2 tsp vegetable oil. Put in the finely chopped ginger, garlic and spring onion after the oil is properly heated. Stir fry for 30 seconds.
- Put your marinated pork belly slices in. Keep stir-frying until the meat is thoroughly cooked.
- Add your bitter melon slices in and stir fry for a further 30 seconds.
- Plate and serve with rice. Hope you like it! 请慢用（qǐng màn yòng）
Try It Yourself!
And there you have it! A delicious and healthy bitter melon and pork belly stir fry dish. Give it a try and let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. We’re also happy to answer any and all questions you may have about this dish. Remember to also follow us on Instagram for more photos of authentic Chinese food!
