Pork with Bitter Melon and Black Beans Sauce Recipe
We were going grocery shopping at our local chinese supermarket one day when we discovered that bitter melon was on sale. I’m personally not a fan of bitter melon – in fact, I really dislike it but since the bf loves it so much, Â I let him buy it and do what he wants with it, so long as he doesn’t cook my dishes with it as it often leaves a strong bitter taste along with whatever it’s cooked with.
One day I came home late from my workout — starving. I was excited to see what the bf was cooking for dinner when lo and behold – he was making pork with bitter melon and black beans sauce. I urged him to cook the bitter melon separately but seeing as it would prove too difficult – I accepted the fact that I will just have to pick them out myself later đ
The dish itself was actually really good – I didn’t taste the bitter melon in my pork which was great for me!
Here’s how it’s made:
Prepare the marinated pork by marinating it with shaoxing wine, sugar, and salt. We added some grated ginger to give it a little kick.
Also prepare your bitter melons by chopping it up into 1/4 inch thick slices. For the black bean sauce, thoroughly wash the preserved black beans and season it with grated garlic, fish sauce, shaoxing wine, soy sauce, Â salt and sugar. Mix to combine.
Once you have all your ingredients prepped, it’s time to put it all together.
Start by cooking the pork in a pan on medium high heat. Once it’s almost thoroughly cooked, add in the bitter melon and cook until softened.
Add in your black bean sauce and continue cooking it for a few more minutes. To thicken the sauce, add some corn starch dissolved in water and continue cooking until it reaches the desired consistency.
And that’s it! Your dish is done – serve it along side a bowl of rice and you’re good to go đ
Pork with Bitter Melon and Black Beans Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 bitter melon
- 2 pork rib chops, cut up into small pieces
- 2 tbsp ginger, grated
- 1.5 teaspoon shaoxing wine
- 1/2 teaspoon sugar
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3 cloves garlic, grated with a microplane grater
- 4.5 tablespoons preserved black beans, washed
- 2 tablespoons fish sauce
- 1 tablespoon shaoxing wine
- 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
- 1/4 tsp soy sauce
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1/4 cup water mixed with 2 teaspoons cornstarch
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Instructions
- 1. To prepare the bitter melon, halve lengthwise and scoop out all the seeds. Cut the melon into 1/4-inch thick slices and set aside.
- 2. Marinate the pork with ginger, shaoxing wine, sugar, and salt and set aside in a bowl.
- 3. Mix the preserved black beans with the grated garlic, fish sauce, shaoxing wine, salt, dash of soy sauce, and sugar in a bowl and set aside.
- 4. Combine the water and cornstarch in another small bowl and set aside.
- 5. Heat the pan to medium high heat and coat generously with oil. Add in the marinated pork and cook until it's almost done.
- 6. Add the slices of bitter melon and cook until it is considerably softened but still a bit crisp. Then, add the sauce mixture and mix with the melon, cooking for an additional minute.
- 7. Reduce to medium low heat and add the cornstarch mixture in, stirring rapidly to prevent the cornstarch from clumping. Once the sauce reaches desired consistency, serve immediately.
