Bitter Melon Recipes

Bitter melon, or bitter gourd, has been used in Asian cooking since centuries, especially in Indian cuisine. People might wonder how anyone can consume this extremely bitter vegetable. The secret behind it is the various spices in which the bitter melon is blended so skillfully that the bitterness is reduced to almost nothing!

Bitter melon is very effective in treating a number skin disease ranging from sores to psoriasis! Not only this, bitter melon is also found very effective for diabetes as it helps to reduce the level of glucose from blood and also helps to improve the production of insulin. Other benefits of bitter melon include detoxifying and improving the cell function, which is a boon for people suffering from cancer. Now that you are convinced that bitter melon should be consumed, let's take a look at some recipes for bitter melon.

Bitter Melon Soup Recipe
Ingredients

• 1 bitter melon
• 4 cups water
• 1/8 tsp garlic powder
• 1/8 tsp ground black pepper
• ½ pound ground pork
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 1 tsp soy sauce, for seasoning
• 1 tsp fish sauce, for seasoning
• 2 tbsp soy sauce

Process

Take a bowl and mix garlic powder, pepper and 2 tbsp soy sauce in it. After mixing, cover it with the help of a plastic wrap and keep in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes to 1 hour. Now, cut the bitter melon into 1-1½ inch thick round slices and using a small knife; remove the seeds and also the spongy part. When you are done with it, stuff each bitter melon ring with the pork mixture. If the mixture remains, make small balls out of it. Now boil water in a saucepan and put the stuffed melon rings into it along with the remaining balls. Let simmer for about 30-45 minutes, over medium heat. When done, season with 1 tsp fish sauce and soy sauce and put it in the green onions.

Stuffed Bitter Melon
Ingredients

For Stuffing

• Large pinch of white pepper
• 3 shiitake mushrooms, re-hydrated and chopped finely
• 1 tsp cornflour
• 4 tsp light soy sauce
• 1 bitter melon
• 450 grams minced pork, or half pork half raw prawn
• 1 tbsp Shaoxing rice wine

For Sauce

• 2 tbsp sugar
• 2 spring onions, sliced on the diagonal
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp cornflour, slaked
• 250 ml chicken stock
• 2½ tbsp fermented black beans, chopped and mashed
• 1 inch of ginger, chopped finely

Process

Add prawns or pork, Shaoxing wine, shiitake mushrooms, cornflour, white pepper and soy sauce to a bowl and mix well. Now slice the melon into 1 inch slices, remove the seeded spongy part. Once you are done with this, blanch the melon slices in water and refresh. When done, stuff the slices with pork mixture, stuff as much as possible as the stuffing will shrink. Steam the stuffed melons for about 15-20 minutes, in two batches. Now keep that aside and heat up a wok. When it is properly heated, add vegetable oil to it, swirl it around. Now add garlic and ginger, mix until light browned and then add stock, black beans and sugar. Mix well and add the melon rings and simmer for about 2 minutes. After 2 minutes, add slaked cornflour and simmer further, until thickened. Season with spring onions and serve with rice.

Stuffed Bitter Melon with Eggplant
Ingredients

• 4 bitter melon, reg. sized, cut into 4 pieces
• 3 tbsp shrimp fry
• 1 cup pork (cut into small pieces)
• 6 eggplants (cut into 4 pieces)
• 5 to 6 tomatoes, reg. sized, sliced
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 pieces garlic, crushed

Process

Take a frying pan and saute tomatoes, garlic, onion, shrimp fry and pork. Do not cook thoroughly, when it is half done, add bitter melon and eggplant with 1 cup water. Season to taste and simmer until cooked.

These days, all of us are satiating our taste buds with the wrong food most of the time, making the above recipes is the perfect way to get some healthy food to our body. So, what are you waiting for! Try the above recipes and get healthy!