Beef & Bitter Melon have got to be one of my favourite combinations. Being a big fan of bitter flavours, this dish warms up my insides on cold winter nights. Read on to discover the simple recipe that never lets me down.
11 ingredients | 5 steps | 35 mins
Why You Need This Recipe
- Our Beef & Bitter Melon recipe is a low effort, high reward dish clocking in at 35 minutes.
- It provides a creative way to integrate vegetables into your cooking.
- As its name suggests, bitter melon will delight everyone who loves bitter flavours
What You Will Need
Mandoline Slicer
A mandoline slicer is a device made up of a flat surface fitted with a sharp blade. It allows you to safely and precisely slice vegetables and fruits. Moreover, you will do all of your prep much faster than if you were using a knife.
Star Ingredients
Bitter Melon
Also known as bitter apple, bitter gourd and margoze, bitter melon is a tropical and subtropical vine. As a matter of fact, it finds its roots in Africa but has become very popular in Asia and the Caribbean for its edible fruit.
As its name suggests, this fruit will definitely hit your bitter taste buds. Having said that, if it is properly prepared and salted, the bitterness becomes more subtle and blends beautifully with the other flavours in the dish.
Beef
I like to use skirt steak when making this dish because it remains tender after frying at high temperatures. If you can’t get your hands on skirt steak, a lean rump steak will work quite well too. Moreover adding corn starch to the beef further tenderises it.
Scroll to the bottom to find the full list of ingredients and detailed recipe.
Prepping Tips
How to Prepare Bitter Melon
The key to cooking with bitter melon is to prepare it well ahead of time. My advice here would be to get start the night before you intend to cook the dish. Firstly, slice the bitter melon into half and remove all the seeds using a table spoon.
Afterwards, thinly slice it using a mandoline and add all the pieces to a bowl of salt water. Leave the bitter melon in water overnight and squeeze it dry the following morning. The reason why we do this is to mellow the bitterness of the fruit. One final tip, make sure that bitter melon
Complete Recipe Steps
Here’s a summary of the steps you need to follow to make Beef & Bitter Melon.
1
Prepare your bitter melon as per the instructions above.
2
Remove bitter melon from salt water and squeeze dry. Add to a hot pan with some rice bran oil and fry until slightly crispy. Remove and set aside.
Scroll to the bottom for the printable recipe card
3
4
5
How to Serve Beef & Bitter Melon
My favourite way to serve Beef & Bitter Melon is with a bowl of steamed jasmine rice and a side of Chinese broccoli (gai lan or 芥蘭). The reason why I choose jasmine rice over basmati rice is because of the higher moisture content in the rice.
Recipe FAQs
Do I need to soak the bitter melon?
If you’re pressed for time, you can skip this step. But your final dish will taste more bitter. To some extent, you can counter this with seasoning.
Can I use rump steak?
Yes, if you’re unable to source skirt steak, you can use a lean rump steak for this recipe.
What veggies can I serve with this dish?
My favourite vegetable to serve with Beef & Bitter Melon is Chinese broccoli. Some other great options are choy sum (菜心) and siu choy (紹菜).
Printable Recipe Card
Beef & Bitter Melon (苦瓜炒牛肉)
Equipment
- 1 Mandoline Slicer
Ingredients
- 400 g beef skirt steak thinly sliced
- 2 medium bitter melon sliced
- 2 tbsp rice bran oil
- 1 large garlic clove
- 1 small red chilli
- 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- ¼ cup water
- 1 tsp soy sauce
- 2 tsp Chinese Shaoxing wine
- 1 tbsp corn starch
- 1 tsp sesame oil
Complete Recipe Steps
- Prepare the bitter melon by slicing in half, lengthwise. Remove the seeds with a spoon and then slice each half crosswise as thinly as possible. I would recommend using a mandolin if you have one. It will produce perfectly consistent slices.2 medium bitter melon
- Soak bitter melon overnight in a bowl of salt water.
- Remove bitter melon from salt water and squeeze dry. Add to a hot pan with some rice bran oil and fry until slightly crispy. Remove and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, combine the soy sauce, Chinese cooking wine, corn starch and sesame oil for the marinade. Add the sliced beef and stir to combine. Set aside.1 tsp soy sauce, 2 tsp Chinese Shaoxing wine, 1 tbsp corn starch, 1 tsp sesame oil, 400 g beef skirt steak
- Heat the oil over medium high heat in pan. Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the marinated beef and stir-fry until the beef is no longer pink, around 3 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon oyster sauce and stir to coat.2 tbsp rice bran oil, 1 large garlic clove, 3 tbsp oyster sauce
- Stir in the bitter melon. Add the water and the remaining 2 tablespoons oyster sauce and chilli. Stir and then cook, covered until the bitter melon is crisp tender, around 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the pan sit, covered for 5 minutes.1 small red chilli, ¼ cup water
- Serve with steamed rice.