Definition: Bitter melon is a strange looking gourd that resembles a cucumber with a rough, pockmarked skin. The flavor is also unusual - like cilantro, it's an acquired taste. Fortunately, blanching bitter melon before cooking will help reduce the bitter taste. (You can also degorge it as you would with eggplant). Another solution is to pair bitter melon with strong flavors such as black beans, which counteracts the bitterness. In one well-known Chinese recipe bitter melon is stuffed with pork, garlic, and mashed black beans, and steamed. (See How to Prepare Bitter Melon for further details).
Long thought to have medicinal value, bitter melon has been used as an alternative therapy to treat everything from infections and menstrual irregularities, to type 2 diabetes. However, Cathy Wong, About.com Guide to Alternative Medicine, notes that: "Bitter melon may decrease blood sugar and insulin levels, so it shouldn't be combined with diabetes medication or any other medication that affects blood sugar unless under a doctor's supervision."
Photograph of Bitter Melon
Written by Rhonda Parkinson
Long thought to have medicinal value, bitter melon has been used as an alternative therapy to treat everything from infections and menstrual irregularities, to type 2 diabetes. However, Cathy Wong, About.com Guide to Alternative Medicine, notes that: "Bitter melon may decrease blood sugar and insulin levels, so it shouldn't be combined with diabetes medication or any other medication that affects blood sugar unless under a doctor's supervision."
Photograph of Bitter Melon
Written by Rhonda Parkinson
Also Known As: Balsam Pear, Foo Gwa
Examples:
Recipes Using Bitter Melon:Bitter Melon Stir-fry
Pork With Bitter Melon
Return to the Glossary of Chinese Ingredients and Cooking Terms
