Black Bean Chicken with Bitter Melon

In the summer months, our next-door neighbours in Chicago used to bring us bitter melon plucked fresh from their tiny garden. They knew it was one of our favourite vegetables. For most people bitter melon is, quite frankly, an acquired taste, although I certainly don’t recall anything but enjoyment when eating this unusual vegetable in the various ways my mother prepared it. However, it was to my advantage that, as I was told, I inherited my taste buds from my grandmother, a wonderful cook