Bitter Gourd with Soft Pork Ribs
Bitter Gourd with Soft Spare Ribs ~ a homey dish not to be missed
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Bitter gourd (Bitter Melons) is often used in Chinese cooking for its bitter flavor, typically in stir-fries with pork or eggs, soup and even blended into juices with apples, carrots or other fruits.ย They are very low in calories. It is an excellent source of vitamins B1, B2 and B3, C, Magnesium, Folic Acid, Zinc, Phosphorus, Maganese and has high dietary fiber.ย Westerners may not be so used to Bitter Gourds, so may find them more difficult to consume. But if you can generally take bitter taste, you may be able to take this too. Try it, at least for all its healthy virtues!
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Bitter Gourd with Soft Pork Ribs
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Author: Ann Low
Ingredients
- (A) Ingredients:
- 500g Soft pork ribs (่ฝฏๆ้ชจ๏ผchop to small pieces
- 1 tsp Sugar
- ¼ tsp Chicken powder (with no MSG added)
- 1 tsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 2 tbsp Corn flour
- 2 tbsp Corn oil
- Marinate soft pork ribs with all the above for at least for few hours.
- Seasonings:
- 1 tsp Dark soy sauce
- ½ tbsp Light soy sauce
- 1 tbsp Oyster sauce
- 1 tsp Sesame oil
- 1 tsp Chicken powder
- ½ tsp Pepper
- Mix seasonings with 250ml water
- (B) Ingredients:
- 400-500g Bitter gourd (remove seed, cut to about 5mm thick slices)
- 1-1½ tbsp Fermented black beans (wash and roughly chopped)
- 3 Shallots (cut finely)
- 1 tbsp Garlic (chopped)
- ½ tbsp Ginger (minced)
- 2-3 Chillies (cut finely)
Instructions
- Deep fry or shallow fry marinated soft pork ribs till just cooked. Remove oil and mix the seasoning water to the pork ribs and simmer at medium heat till soft for about 30 minutes. (add a little more water if you find the sauce salty)
- Heat some oil in non-stick pan, fry fermented black beans, shallots, garlic and chillies.
- Add in bitter gourd with 1 tbsp Chinese cooking wine, fry well.
- Then pour the bitter gourd into the soft pork ribs and simmer for another 10-15 mins till bitter gourd becomes tender.
- Serve hot with rice.
Superb!! Made it twice and itโs amazing, didnโt need to add chicken powder too ๐
Thank you Jocel!
i don't like bitter gourd, but i like pork rib a lot…hehehe
Your bittergourd dish looks delicious. I usually stir-fry with slivers of beef and thicken the gravy or fry it with egg and salted egg. My mum taught me to rub salt on the sliced gourd and rinse it clean to reduce the bitterness.
I have never tried bitter gourd before but now you have me intrigued. Anything that looks that delicious cooked up with those tender pork ribs has to be worth trying! Cheers.
Thanks for the tips on masking the bitterness.. I seldom cook bitter gourd at home coz hubby doesn't eat.. what a waste..hehe
For me, I love this dish! ๐
Tangled Noodles: Yes add a little more salt if you don't like too bitter.
HK Choo: I like it to be cooked in any way because I love bitter gourd.
Rachel: Haha..no problem
Quinn: Your grandma must be a good cook like my grandma ;))
Little Inbox: Will the bitter gourd becomes too soft because the pork ribs take longer to cook?
pour l'état c'est parfait
bravo j'adore
bonne soirée
I don't like bittergourd, so never eat bittergourd b4…
Both husband and I love bitter gourd! Thanks for sharing the recipe, will definitely try this!
My elder son loves bitter gourd, he will like this dish! I am such a lousy cook, so far I could only manage stir-fry bittergourd with eggs ๐
I have not had bitter gourd before, but this dish looks delicious. I'd love to try it.
I have influenced my husband to like this bittermelon. I usually cooked for siomay (stuffed with fish paste and steamed and eat with peanut sauce) or stir fry with tauco and shrimp.
my husband and I love it but not my children.
wow this looks so so good and would take some of that bitter flavor away
I like my bittergourd cooked tihs way too! So good with rice!
I bet my children won't touch on this! haha…. They hate bitter gourd. Good then my hubby & I can finish everything by ourselves. Hope you're having a nice evening.Cheers, Kristy ^_^
I love bitter melon & pork. Mine is based on what I had in NW China though and looks somewhat different from your version. Nonetheless I'm sure this tastes great!
I cooked bittergourd with chicken a while back, and yet to post.
I like the "grown-up" taste of bitter gourd! Japanese Okinawan gourd looks more knubbly on the outside. Good for summer ๐
Velva, Lindsey: I think you can only find bitter gourd in Asian market.Bren: So only you eat bitter gourd ;)Busygran: Yep, method is about the same. I never fry bitter gourd with salted egg, next time must try it.Ai Ping: you're welcome ;)Wiffy: Soft pork ribs (软排骨) is the type you have in dimsum ~ steamed pork ribs. This is more tender and takes shorter time to cook. Get this from the market and tell the butcher what type of pork you want.Kristy: You're right, most kids don't like bitter gourd.
I have to try this next time, so far only did bittergourd stir fry egg. What is soft pork ribs? different from usual pork ribs?
I enjoy bitter gourd dishes. We recently planted bitter gourd but it wasn't healthy so there was hardly any harvest:(
What an awesome recipe for the pork ribs! But first time I see bitter gourds, my local Chinese stores I think they haven’t them :(Anyway, thanks for the recipe! :)Cheers,Gera
This is a really tasty dish and a great way to enjoy bitter gourd. I did not fancy this vegetable as a kid but love it now ๐
I love bittergourd and this seems like a deadly combination. I have never imagined bitter gourd with meat.. I would love to try it with chicken sometime.
I love bitter gourd. I have never used salted black beans before because I am afraid that it is very salty. I will try the next time. Looks delicious. Cannot trust some of the recipes, we must correct it because it turns out salty.
Many people, esp. young kids don't like the taste of bitter gourds. Well, I might be the odd one. I like bitter gourds from childhood. My mum used to cook it with beef, sometimes cook with pork ribs just like your dish here. I just love it.
The best veggie I love in summer!
Ann, bitter gourd is also very good for diabetic patients. Just happened that I am not scared of its bitterness and my favorite is bitter gourd fried with minced pork and chilies. So this recipe is definitely for me ๐
Sawadee from Bangkok,
Kris
This looks delicious, but I'm not to sure about the bitter gourd.
Mimi
Anncoo..this is my favourite dish ! ๐ Sometimes I will order this dish when eat out ๐
Looks good Ann, unfortunately I am the only one that would eat bitter gourd ๐
LS: Yes this is really good for hot weather. Can make it into juice.
Keats: Had never tried to grow bitter gourd, maybe I may give it a try.
Wen: Same here, kids only eat the pork ribs ;DD
Thanks Gera ๐
Cheah: Can't wait to see your post
Murasaki: I remember in Taiwan, their bitter gourd is white in color and it is usually steamed and dip with sauce.
Rebecca: I remember you cooked bitter melon with eggs :))
Biren: Me too.;DD
Thank you Fimere.
Pepy: Yes we have it here too. Bitter gourd stuff with fish paste with dipping sauce or soup.
Ann, Sweetums: Thank you ๐
I think I've seen bitter gourd in Indian food stores. I never would have known how to use it until now. Thanks for the recipe ๐
Have an amazing weekend.
*kisses* HH
Sharon, Sze Sze: Must try to eat some..good for health.
HHB: Hope your son will like this dish after trying it.
Mimi, Lynda: I think this is only available in Asian market.
Elin: hehee…cook this at home, so no need to order ๐
Kris: I love that. Sometime I saw from food store, they just stir fry bitter gourd with black beans and chillies.
Hungrytummies: Next come to my place, I can share with you.
Neeyeeloh: This is good for health, 要多吃!
I cook this before. I put everything in the slow cooker and cook until everything turn soft. ๐
mhhh! che fame. I'm hungry ๐
I don't think I've come across a bitter gourd here. If I do I will know what to do with it!
Anncoo, you have reminded me so much of my grandma….she makes the exact same dish, complete with the black beans as well….I love this dish and could eat a lot of rice with this alone…. Now I can replicate this myself and reminisce my times with her having lunch with our hands every noon…thanks!
You are right I am not used to bitter gourd. I am not sure I have ever seen it but, I think I would enjoy it.Great informative post. Thanks.
Frankly speaking, I'm quite afraid of eating bitter gourd, lol! Most of the time when I eat is for it's good healthy benefits. But I will try your method of lessening the bitter flavor, thanks!
Awesome dish, I prefer it this way as there's more gravy than the omelette style. ๐
My mother makes a bitter gourd/bitter melon dish from the Philippines called ampalaya, but she prepares it in such a way that reduces the bitterness (soaking in salt/water solution). Unfortunately, I haven't been able to master her technique, so the few times I've made this, it was much too bitter even for me. But for this recipe, I'm willing to try again!
I got bitter ground with chicken for my dinner last night.. haha~Can i have your bitter ground with soft pork rib for my lunch now later? kekeke
Ha, I love bitter gourd! Actually, it took me years to get used to it … Glad that I did! Haha! Otherwise, I'll be missing out on such goodness in life! Ya know what, this is one of my fave ways to serve bitter gourd with! =)
I tried this, it is very delicious. Thank you Ann.
You’re welcome ๐
thanks for your info about the pork ribs ๐
Lori: Thanks for your comments. You may blend the bitter gourd with other fresh fruits into juice to lower the bitterness.
Pei-Lin: hahaa…I think both of us are in the same dialect ;DD
Mmm…my favourite dish. My mom always says it's good for health. I had it back home…so happy ๐
I have been wanting to buy this at our Asian store but did not know how to prepare it. Thank you for your idea here. Westerners are so not into bitter – you are right. Everything is slathered in sugar- yuck. Not that I dont like sugar but there is just too much of it in America.