Name: Stuffed Bitter Melon in Tomato Sauce
Yield: Makes 2 to 3 servings as a main dish or 4 to 6 servings as part of a multicourse meal
Cuisine: Trinidad Hakka
Ingredients: 1 teaspoon minced garlic; ½ teaspoon salt; ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper; 2 tablespoons vegetable oil; 2 bitter melons, each about 2 inches wide (about 1 pound total); 12 ounces ground pork; ¼ cup minced green onions, including green tops; 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger; 2 tablespoons oyster sauce; ½ teaspoon sugar; 1 teaspoon cornstarch; ¾ cup plus 1 tablespoon water, or as needed; ¾ cup chopped ripe tomatoes

Preparation info

Makes
2 to 3
servings as a main dish

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Hakka Cookbook

By Linda Anusasananan

Published 2012

About

Marie Chang adds a secret ingredient to bitter melon to defuse its quinine pungency: tomato sauce. In her recipe, the bitterness doesn’t completely disappear, but the natural sweetness of the tomato gently mellows and blunts the bitter melon’s bite. This recipe is adapted from her contribution to her husband’s book Foods of the Hakka Shops.