I.D.E.A.

Here’s my attempt to re-create what my mom made from time to time when I was a kid. I use to hate it because the bitterness was too much to handle, but now it’s what I usually order when I go to Chinatown. (Supposedly, as one grows older, one loses taste buds. Maybe this explains why I can go beyond the bitterness and actually enjoy this dish.)

Here’s the recipe..

Ingredients

• 2 bitter melons (aka bitter gourd; the greener the less bitter; don’t buy any with yellow coloring because it means the melon is old)
• 1 TBSP salt
• 1 pound of thin (maybe 1/4 in.) slices of beef
• 1 TBSP soy sauce
• 1 TBSP chinese cooking wine
• 1 TBSP water
• 1 tsp corn starch
• 2 TBSP canola oil
• 1 inch of ginger (julienned)
• 2 TBSP black bean sauce

Directions

1. Cut the bitter melon in half length-wise and scoop out the seeds and the white pithy center
2. Cut the melon into 1/8 in. slices
3. Put the melon pieces and the salt into a bowl and mix well (this will help draw out some of the bitterness. Let this sit for 30 minutes.
4. Slice the beef into 1/4 in. strips and put it into a medium sized bowl (we’re going to marinade the beef in this bowl)
5. In a small bowl, mix the soy sauce, water and cooking wine
6. Stir in the cornstarch and mix well
7. Pour the mixture onto the beef and mix until the beef is well coated. Put in fridge to let it marinade
8. Rinse the melon in some water and drain well
9. Heat the canola oil in a wok or frying pan
10. Add the ginger and sautee for 30 to 60 seconds
11. Add the bitter melon, a pinch of salt and sautee for a few minutes until the melon is just a tad soft on the outside but is still crisp on the inside (if you want the melon to be softer, you can blanche the melon first before you sautee it)
12. Add the beef and the black bean sauce
13. Sautee until the beef is done…probably a couple of minutes
14. Add salt to taste

Just put a serving of this over a bed of steamed white rice and you’re good to go! Enjoy.

This entry was posted on Friday, March 24th, 2006 at 8:10 pm and is filed under Food. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.