Dish of Pork & Bitter Melon
(click to enlarge)

Bitter Melon with Ground Pork


Sichuan / California   -   (Ganbian kugua)
Serves:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 3 w/rice
***
1 hr
Yes		 An interesting and flavorful stir fried appetizer / side dish of Bitter Melon and Pork, with moderate chili heat and quick to make. See also Comments regarding "authenticity".

9
12
------
5
1/2
4
1/4
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1
1/2
1
ar
1
oz
oz
---

t
cl
c
---
T
T
T

t
Pork, Ground (1)  
Bitter Melon (2)
-- Aromatics
Chilis Dry (3)
Sichuan Pepper (4)
Garlic
Yibin yaci (5)
---------
Oil
Soy Sauce
Oil (more)
Salt
Sesame Oil
Prep   -   (20 min + 10 min to grind Pork)
  1. Grind PORK, or chop very fine.
  2. Slice BITTER MELON in half lengthwise. Scoop out seed mass with a spoon, then slice crosswise about 1/8 inch thick.
  3. Snip Chilis into 1/2 inch lengths and dump out seeds. Stir Sichuan Pepper in with the Chilis.
  4. Crush GARLIC and chop fine.
  5. If you have real Yibin yaci, rinse it well, it tends to be quite salty. Tianjin Preserved Vegetable, not so much - but fluff it up so it doesn't lump.
Run   -   (15 minutes)
  1. In a wok or spacious sauté pan, without oil, stir in Bitter Melon and fry stirring over moderate heat until it has softened, and shows traces of browning. Scoop out and set aside.
  2. In a wok or spacious sauté pan, Heat 1 T Oil over high flame. Stir in Ground Pork and fry stirring until it has lost all its raw color and all exuded liquid has evaporated. Then stir in Soy Sauce for a minute. Scoop out and set aside.
  3. Add 1 T Oil to the pan. Over moderate heat, stir in Chilis and Sichuan Pepper. Fry stirring until Chilis just start to darken, then stir in Garlic for a few seconds. Finally, stir in Yibin yaci for a few seconds.
  4. Stir in Pork, then Bitter Melon. Fry stirring until hot. Check for salt (probably not needed).
  5. Turn off heat and stir in Sesame Oil.
  6. Serve warm as a side dish or appetizer.
NOTES:

  1. Pork:

      Weight is for boneless pork with all excess fat removed, and ground - preferably at home.

  2. Bitter Melon:

      You want unblemished dark green melons of the Chinese type with smooth warts, and they should feel solid. For details see our Bitter Melon page.

  3. Red Chili:

      I suggest using Japones, unless you want to go really hot along with the bitter. For details see our Thai Chilis page. Use your own best judgment as to how many and how hot.

  4. Sichuan Peppercorns

      Fruits of a prickly ash tree, - nothing at all like black peppercorns. Asian recipes always call for them to be lightly toasted before use, but to be legally imported into the USA they must already be lightly toasted, so I skip that step. For details see our Sichuan Pepper page.

  5. Yibin Yaki:

      This is a dried salted and double fermented mustard stems. It is complex to make and difficult to find in North America. The recommended substitute is Tianjin Preserved Vegetable, it's the one that comes in the brown ceramic crock. For details see our Pickled & Preserved Cabbages page.

  6. Comments:

      I did considerable violence to Fuchsia Dunlop's recipe, thus Sichuan / California. Her basic recipe called for a single 1 pound 2oz Bitter Melon and no Pork. I used her alternative to include ground pork, but used 2 6-1/2 ounce melons (typical size here in California). I upped the pork from 1-3/4 ounces to 8 ounces, and restepped the cooking a little so it'd work better with these quantities. She said to dry fry the melon until "reduced in volume and looks wet". Our California melons don't shrink much and start to brown without looking wet.
  7. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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