Not a fan of bitter melon? You will be one after trying this bitter melon with pork stuffing recipe. This dish gives you tasty and tender pork stuffing wrapped around nutritious bitter melon slices. Don’t worry about the bitterness as this recipe shares a way to reduce it without compromising flavor!
What Is Bitter Melon With Pork Stuffing?
Bitter melon is a popular ingredient in Asian cuisine. Depending on what it is called in your country, it is also known as bitter gourd, ampalaya, bitter apple, and bitter squash, to name a few. It is oblong-shaped with a jagged green skin and thin seed-filled flesh.
It is an excellent source of nutrients, such as vitamin C, vitamin A, fiber, zinc, and potassium, to name a few. You can use bitter melon for stir-fried dishes, soups, and salad (sucha as bitter melon salad), among other things. In this recipe, I fill the center of each bitter melon slice with seasoned pork or your choice of stuffing.
The stuffing is easy to prepare as you only need to mix the meat with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, cornstarch, and a little bit of oil. Afterward, the stuffing is sandwiched in the center of the hollow bitter melon slices before frying in the pan. With this combination, the bitter and savory flavors perfectly complement each other!
How To Lessen The Bitterness Of Bitter Melons
There are a few ways to make the bitter flavors of bitter melon more tolerable and enjoyable. The trick is to reduce its bitterness as much as possible. Here are three surefire ways to do it:
- Remove the seeds and jagged surface of the skin: It helps lessen the bitter flavors when you remove the seeds and jagged parts of the bitter melon’s skin. In fact, the jagged parts of the skin have the most amount of bitter flavors. It won’t completely remove the bitterness, but will surely lessen the strength.
- Marinate with salt: Salt draws out moisture from bitter melon, which helps release its bitter flavors as well. Rub some salt onto the bitter melon slices and let them soak for 15 to 30 minutes. Then, rinse off the salt by washing the bitter melon slices with water.
- Blanch with salt: Put water with salt in a pot and bring to a boil. Once it boils, add the chopped and deseeded bitter melon slices and blanch for about 2 to 5 minutes. Then, remove the bitter melon slices and soak them in cold water for a few minutes. Drain the water and pat dry the bitter melon slices to be ready for frying.
Ingredients To Prepare For Bitter Melon With Pork Stuffing
The outcome of this recipe depends on the ingredients you choose, from picking the right bitter melon to the stuffing of your choice. That is why I created a list below of alternatives and suggestions when choosing your ingredients. Before proceeding with the recipe instructions, have a quick read of this section.
- Bitter melon: Keep in mind the ripest bitter melon is the most bitter-tasting. You can choose dark green bitter melons with a bit of yellow tones. In this way, you pick the ones that are only starting to ripen, making them less bitter. Don’t pick the ones with blemishes or dark spots. Moreover, the flesh when pressed should be firm and not squishy.
- Stuffing options: I used minced pork as my stuffing which is mixed with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, cornstarch, and peanut oil. You can swap pork for minced beef or chicken and adjust the seasonings to taste. To make it vegetarian or vegan, you can use ground soy meat, dried shiitake mushrooms, or crumbled tofu and adjust the seasonings.
- Other excellent ingredients: Additional seasonings to try are white pepper, Szechuan peppercorn, and Shaoxing wine. You can also add yellow or red onions for an oniony taste and added moisture. Other flavor enhancers to add are minced garlic, spring onions, and minced ginger.
- Cornstarch alternative: Cornstarch acts as a binder to hold the stuffing together and helps absorb the juices to keep the stuffing moist. You can swap cornstarch with potato starch or tapioca starch. Alternatively, it is generally fine to leave this out of the stuffing recipe.
What You Need To Make Bitter Melon With Pork Stuffing
Here’s a complete list of items to get started with the recipe instructions:
Kitchen Tools
- Mixing bowl
- Wok or regular non-stick pan for frying
- Lid
- Stirrer
- Knife and chopping board
Ingredients
- 200g of minced pork or meat of choice
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of sugar
- 1 tbsp of cornstarch
- 1 tbsp of peanut oil
- Bitter gourd slices
- Water (for frying)
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce (for frying)
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce (for frying)
- Cornstarch slurry (The cornstarch slurry is made by mixing 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water (1:2 ratio))
Instructions On How To Make Bitter Melon With Pork Stuffing
The recipe instructions have three main steps: combine the stuffing ingredients, fill the bitter melon slices with stuffing, and fry everything in the pan. You can complete the recipe in just under 30 minutes. Watch how I created this recipe in my Instagram or TikTok social media accounts.
Combine the chopped pork with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, cornstarch, and peanut oil.
Stir well and set aside.
Cut the bitter melon into 3cm thick slices.
Scrape out the pith and seeds from each slice.
Then, stuff the hollowed bitter gourd slices with the prepared stuffing mixture.
Heat oil in a wok and fry the stuffed bitter melon slices until both sides are charred and brown. Next, add water to the wok, along with 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce. Cover the wok and let the mixture cook for 10 minutes, allowing the flavors to be well-absorbed.
Add a bit of cornstarch slurry to the wok to thicken the sauce.
Once the sauce thickens, turn off the heat and serve while hot and fresh.
How To Cook Bitter Melon With Pork Stuffing
Equipment
- Mixing bowl
- Wok or regular non-stick pan for frying
- Lid
- Stirrer
- Knife and chopping board
Ingredients
- 200 g of minced pork or meat of choice
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce
- 1/2 tsp of salt
- 1/2 tsp of sugar
- 1 tbsp of cornstarch
- 1 tbsp of peanut oil
- Bitter gourd slices
- Water for frying
- 1 tbsp of oyster sauce for frying
- 1 tbsp of light soy sauce for frying
- Cornstarch slurry The cornstarch slurry is made by mixing 1 tbsp of cornstarch with 2 tbsp of water (1:2 ratio)
Instructions
- Combine the chopped pork with light soy sauce, oyster sauce, salt, sugar, cornstarch, and peanut oil.
- Stir well and set aside.
- Cut the bitter melon into 3cm thick slices.
- Scrape out the pith and seeds from each slice.
- Then, stuff the hollowed bitter gourd slices with the prepared stuffing mixture.
- Heat oil in a wok and fry the stuffed bitter melon slices until both sides are charred and brown.
- Next, add water to the wok, along with 1 tablespoon of oyster sauce and 1 tablespoon of light soy sauce.
- Cover the wok and let the mixture cook for 10 minutes, allowing the flavors to be well-absorbed.
- Add a bit of cornstarch slurry to the wok to thicken the sauce.
- Once the sauce thickens, turn off the heat and serve while hot and fresh.
