Salted Bitter Melon

For those who grew up in the West, like me, bitter melon can seem like a test: the kind of vegetable you have to learn, begrudgingly, to love. There is no secret to making it gentler on the tongue; salt will temper it only so much. In the end, all you can do is submit. Embrace the bitterness. That’s why it’s here, to trigger parts of your palate you don’t even know about yet, and show you a whole other dimension of flavor. These days I even drink it—my favorite herbalist, Grace Gala