Loaf and PsalmA journal from an improving homemaker

Chinese · Summer

Bitter Melon with Beef

The melon is salted and rinsed so the bitterness softens, then cooked briefly with beef and fermented black beans. It should still taste bitter. That is the vegetable.

30 minutes · Serves 4 · Enough for 4 plates of rice

Sliced bitter melon and beef with fermented black beans

“For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving.”

1 Timothy 4:4

Ingredients

  • 12 oz bitter melon
  • 1 tsp fine salt, for drawing water from the melon
  • 12 oz flank steak or sirloin, sliced thin against the grain
  • 1 tsp soy sauce
  • 1 tsp cornstarch
  • 1 tbsp fermented black beans, rinsed
  • 2 garlic cloves, sliced
  • 1 tbsp avocado oil
  • 1 tbsp soy sauce, for the pan
  • 2 tbsp water

Method

Making Bitter Melon with Beef: Halve the bitter melon lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and the white pith, and slice it 1/4 inch thick.…
Halve the bitter melon lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and the white pith, and slice it 1/4 inch thick.…
Making Bitter Melon with Beef: Lightly chop the rinsed black beans with the garlic.
Lightly chop the rinsed black beans with the garlic.
  1. 1

    Halve the bitter melon lengthwise, scrape out the seeds and the white pith, and slice it 1/4 inch thick. Toss it with the teaspoon of salt and rest 10 minutes. Rinse it and squeeze it gently. This draws off some bitterness. It does not make the melon sweet.

  2. 2

    Toss the beef with the first soy sauce and the cornstarch.

  3. 3

    Lightly chop the rinsed black beans with the garlic.

  4. 4

    Heat the avocado oil over high heat. Sear the beef in one layer, about 45 seconds a side, until browned and no longer raw. Lift it out. In the same pan, stir the black beans and garlic 15 seconds. Add the melon and the 2 tablespoons of water. Cover 2 minutes, until the melon is tender and still green. Uncover, return the beef, add the remaining soy sauce, and toss 30 seconds. Serve with rice.

From the kitchen

  • If you cook the melon until it is olive and soft, the bitterness turns muddy. Stop while it is still bright.
  • Rinse the black beans. Unrinsed, they are salty enough to ruin the pan.

My note

Kept on this device, beside the recipe, for the next time you cook it.

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