I, like many americans, had never even heard of bitter melon growing up. My fiance's mother is from taiwan and grows it every summer. A few nights ago I finally tried some after my curiosity got the best of me, and all I can say is wow! I will definitely be growing this in the future. She made me a simple stir fry dish and I find the taste so unique, I can't stop playing around with different recipes and ways of cooking. She's been supplying me with tons of the stuff because none of the rest of her family can stand it, lol. It's odd in the fact that I don't know if I actually like it or not, but I can't stop eating it because of the uniqueness. It reminds me of when I first started eating ginger, at first I didn't really like it, but found the taste so intriguing that I couldn't stop eating it. Now, I absolutely love it, even chew on it raw sometimes.

What are the ways you all have grown into loving the vegetable? So far I prefer it sauteed with ginger and chopped garlic cloves, but I don't really love it yet like I want to. I know I need to develop my bitter taste, but I'm not quite sure how. I just find it so neat that I have this whole new flavor I get to play with, I want to learn how to enjoy it as much as possible.

Try this classic Chinese recipe utilizing bitter melon, then let us know what you think *wink*:

STIR-FRIED BITTER MELON WITH BEEF

1 pound bitter melon (see note)
1 tablespoon peanut oil
3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/2 pound ground beef
2 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 tablespoon Shaoxing rice wine or dry sherry
2 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoon chicken stock or water
2 teaspoon dark sesame oil

Slice the bitter melon in half lengthwise. Remove the seeds and finely chop the melon. Blanch the bitter melon in boiling water for two minutes; drain thoroughly.

Heat a wok or large frying pan over high heat. Add oil and garlic and stir-fry for 30 seconds. Add the beef and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the soy sauce, rice wine, sugar, salt, bitter melon and stock and stir-fry for another four minutes, or until the beef is cooked. Stir in the sesame oil, turn onto a serving platter and serve.

Note: Bitter melon should be firm & plump. Keep in mind the darker the color, the more bitter the flavor.

Actually I grew both the dark and white varieties last year and am growing them this year as well. Both are Indian variety and the white one was substantially bitter than the dark bitter melon. Just my experience.

-saila

I should have specified that "darker green" varieties are typically more bitter than "lighter green" varieties. But there will be variations across the board.

ruthie, I say go for whatever you can find that sounds interesting. That's what I do.

The big light green ones you typically see in a supermarket have more water content to them and are less bitter. The thin long ones, both the white - actually light green, or dark variety ones are much more bitter. In India these are the ones that are grown, not the big variety.

Evergreen seeds has a good selection of bitter melon varieties. If you check the photographs, you can see that the long thin ones are Indian varities. Depending on your taste preference, you can go with the less or more bitter variety. I myself prefer more bitter taste. I grew up eating bitter melon cooked in several different ways and simply love it.

They do require a long growing season. My bitter melon plants are just now beginning to fruit.

-saila

They say your taste bud change every seven years....

*wink*

You sound like my husband; he couldn't get enough of them.
Actually I cooked some last night for dinner and he ate and ate:) The recipe is quite similar to Violet's except I used chicken and added some yellow onions, and used the black bean sauce with garlic for flavoring, little sugar and salt. I really had to cook the bitter melon 'cause we like them soft not too crunchy.
My dad made stuffed bitter melon, using pork, shrimp and other ingredients for the stuffing and then they were steamed. I haven't had stuffed ones for awhile...

Betsy